Delirium
by KindOfAmy
Summary: AU/AH: Caroline is an inpatient at Mystic Falls Psychiatric Hospital. Klaus is one of the male nurse practitioners there and finds himself growing dangerously close to her... Promo done by thecunningcock!
1. Look After You

**(A/N: Hey guys! This is my second Klaroline story on here. I hope you enjoy it, please leave me reviews to let me know what you lovely people think! I like to make my chapters titles to songs I listen to while writing the story, so I encourage you to listen to the songs to get all the right feeeeeels. The song for this chapter is "Look After You" by The Fray.)**

**Klaus's POV:**

I pull my car up to the hospital and park close to the front. It's my first day here. For any average nurse, that means being ready to piss your pants. Luckily, I'm not nervous. I suppose that might have to do with the fact that my brother Elijah is one of the doctors here and he helped me get the job.

I make it three steps into the building and already, the receptionist is nagging me to sign in and to get checked by security. I'm not in the mood to retort anything witty back to her, she's just trying to do her job. So I do as she says, and by the time I'm done, Elijah rounds the corner and greets me.

"Klaus, you made it," he says, as we move in for a quick hug, "Did you find the place okay?"

"It's a small town, Mystic Falls. I don't think I could get lost even if I wanted to," I reply sarcastically and grab my things from the security check.

He laughs lightly, "Well that's good. Let me show you around."

We head over to a room behind the receptionist's desk that has a sign reading 'STAFF ONLY'. Elijah unlocks the door with his set of keys and we enter. Inside there are separate offices, a file room, a break room, a kitchen, a bathroom, and a small wall of lockers.

Elijah points me to mine and gives me a small set of keys. He explains what each one is for, and then hands me my own set of green scrubs to get changed into. All nurses wear green, the doctors wear blue (sometimes with their white coats over), and the patients wear white. The assistants and volunteers wear their own miscellaneous designed scrubs.

While he gives me a tour of the three story building, we talk about what's new in our lives. I tell him about going back to school in the Fall to get my PHD, and thank him for helping me get the paid summer internship at the hospital. We talk about our brother Kol and how he's been a party animal his first year of college. I think it might have to do with the influence of his new friend Damon. Then there's our younger sister, Rebekah, going into her senior year of high school and enjoying all her extracurricular activities.

"Have you heard from Mom?" he asks me.

"Just that she misses us and is excited that we're working together," I tell him.

"... And Dad?" he asks carefully.

I give him a stern look. He knows I don't get along with Dad. Technically, he's not even my Dad. My mom had an affair with some random guy, and then _I _happened.

"Alright, alright. It was worth a try," he says and changes the subject, "So who's the lucky patient?"

Elijah gave me the opportunity to pick my own patient to study before I came down. We briefly talked on the phone about a few, but there was one in particular who stood out to me.

"I was thinking of that one girl who's been here for seven years," I say as we head back into the 'Staff Only' area, "The one that suffers from Delirium?"

"Caroline, eh?" he says and opens the door, "Really? What about the mute girl, Elena?"

I shake my head, "You said she hasn't spoken since her parents died, and that she doesn't respond to treatments. I can't help anyone who doesn't want to be helped."

"Fair enough," he says while unlocking the door to the file room, "Let me grab you her file and I'll go get her."

It takes him a second to find the file, then he hands it to me and leaves. I change into my green scrubs, grab a cup of water, and sit down in the break room looking over her information:

_Name: Caroline B. Forbes_

_D.O.B.: 8/28/1994_

_D.O.A: 11/20/2004_

_Mother: Elizabeth Forbes_

_Father: N/A_

_Address: 20133 Oso Avenue_

_ Mystic Falls, VA _22314

_Home Phone: (703)-555-5555_

_Diagnosis: Suffers from severe Delirium._

_Symptoms: _

_ -Quick change between mental states_

_ -Changes in levels of consciousness or awareness_

_ -Changes in sleep patterns_

_ -Confusion (disorientation) about time or place_

_ -Hallucinations_

_ -Decrease in memory and recall_

_ -Disrupted or wandering attention_

_ -Disorganized thinking (incoherent speech)_

_ -Personality changes_

_Prescribed Medication:_

_ -Thorazine- mental health_

_ -Zoloft- anxiety, stress, o.c.d._

_ -Restoril- insomnia_

_Personal Notes: Takes medications daily, although not always effective. Cooperative, a pleasure to assist._

This is as far as I get when Elijah returns to the room.

"She's waiting in the conference room just outside, on the right," he tells me, "Good luck."

"I'll see you in a few," I say with a smile while grabbing her folder, and make my way out the door.

As I walk down the hallway, I notice there are small round cameras on the ceiling. EVERYWHERE. I secretly pray for the fool that would decide to malpractice here.

I find the conference room on the right and take a peak inside through the window on the door. There she is. Her back to the door. Blonde, skinny, and pale. Dressed in all white scrubs. She's by herself, sitting in one of the middle chairs at the giant table. There is a hopeful aura about her as she plays thumb war with herself. I chose the right patient.

I place my fingers on the door handle and press down.

**Caroline's POV:**

And there he is. Okay, _don't screw this up Caroline._ Focus.

"Hello Miss Forbes, may I call you Caroline?" He asks me, placing my file on the table and sitting in the chair across from me.

"Mhm," I tell him. I have to be careful at what I say. Elijah said this guy is going to be studying me. I want to make sure that I can prove to him how hard I'm trying to defeat my illness. If I do that, maybe he can help me.

"Alright now Caroline," he says, opening my file, "I'm going to ask you just a few basic questions to get us started, sound good?"

"Mhm," I say and sit up straight.

"What is your full name?"

"Caroline Beula Forbes"

"When were you born?"

"August twenty-eighth, nineteen ninety-four."

"Your birthday is coming soon, any big plans?"

"In here? Yeah right."

He chuckles. That's a good sign. Maybe I can actually be myself with him.

"Where do you live?"

"Block #16," I say, "It's a whopping thirteen by ten feet, not including the bathroom."

He's smiling.

"I meant what city? State?"

Now it's my turn to smile.

"Mystic Falls, Virginia."

"What is your mothers name?"

"Liz."

"And your Father's?"

I open my mouth to say, but nothing comes out.

"…I-I don't remember," I tried hard to recall it, but that part just keeps coming up blank.

"That's okay," he says calmly, "One step at a time."

He continues, "When were you admitted into the ward for Delirium?"

"When I was ten."

"And you've been an inpatient here ever since?"

"Yep, seven years," I sigh and look down, playing with my fingers again, "It feels like seventy..."

"Do you remember what caused you to go into Delirium?"

"No. I mean, I remember having a fever," I shrug, "But everybody gets fevers."

"Right," he marks something down on one of the papers, "So, what _do _you remember?"

I take a deep breath and let it out, "My mom taking me to the hospital and the nurse telling me to change into my new clothes. She also said she was going to give me a balloon afterwards, but that never happened."

"That's interesting," he says, looking up at me.

"What?"

"That you remember that small detail with the nurse, but you don't remember what caused you to end up in here."

"Well, I really wanted that balloon."

He chuckles. I like seeing him smile.

"How long have you gone without experiencing-"

"Two months," I say immediately. I know he was going to ask me about my hallucinations.

"And when was the last time you experienced one?"

"Two months ago," I say proudly.

"Oh, well congratulations."

"Thank you," I say through my smile, and take a small bow, "They say if I go six months, they'll let me out of here but I'll still be on watch. They'll have like, a nurse come to my home every week or something like that. My goal date to make it out of here is October twenty-eighth."

"Well, Caroline," he writes something down again, "I'm going to make sure I do everything in my power to see that you do."

He looks up at me and smiles. I can't help but smile back.

"Dr. Mikaelson, can I ask you a question?"

"Of course."

I sincerely hope I don't ruin things with this, "What made you pick me as your subject?"

He doesn't answer. His mouth hangs slightly open as he stares at me.

I try to rephrase it,"I mean, there are plenty of needy patients here. Why me?"

"… Why not?" he says, and folds his hands on the table.

We stare at each other.

"I had a handful of people to choose from. When I came across your folder, I saw a fighter," he looks at me intently, "Caroline, you are strong, beautiful, and full of light.I _know_ you can get yourself out of this dark hell you're in. And you _will_. Whether that be with my help or not."

Now my mouth is slightly hanging open, "… You think I'm... beautiful?"

He smiles, "And sassy. I'll see you tomorrow Caroline."

He closes the folder and stands up from his seat. He's just about to head out the door when he stops himself.

"Oh!" He turns around, "And I'm not a doctor yet, you can call me by my first name. It's Klaus."

"Okay, Klaus... thank you," I say politely.

He smiles and walks out the door.

**(A/N: SO what did you guys think? Let me know in the reviews!)**


	2. Vitamin R & Use Somebody

**(A/N: Okay, first of all I just want to thank you guys for all of the HUGE support on the first chapter of this story. You guys are seriously AMAZING. I really enjoy writing this story, and I'm so glad you enjoy reading it. Secondly, I have two songs for this chapter. They are "Vitamin R" by Chevelle, and "Use Somebody (Cover)" by Paramore. Listen. Read. Review. Enjoy!)**

**Caroline's POV:**

"Caroline?"

"What?" I ask, immediately snapping my attention to the support group leader.

I'm in one of the small conference rooms, sitting on the floor in a circle with the rest of the teens in the ward. We have these weekly. We all gather around and talk about our issues and how we can try to 'overcome' them.

"I asked you a question."

"Oh," I say, trying to recollect her words, "...I'm sorry, I completely forgot what we were talking about."

"No worries, wouldn't be the first time," Anna says, flashing a malicious smile and twisting her dark brown hair around her fingers.

Henrik, a 14-year old boy sitting a couple of seats away from her, starts laughing hysterically. He usually does that, along with his weird obsession of sticking his hands underneath everyone's armpits. We all have to keep our arms tight to our bodies around him.

Anna's sixteen and is in here because because she has paranoia schizophrenia. She likes to tease me a lot, especially because of my condition, but I mostly just let it slide. Every once in a while I'll get in one of my angry mood swings and try to choke her, but I've gone through another month now of being delusion-free and well behaved. I'll be damned if I let one girl ruin my clean streak.

The group leader continues, "We were talking about you're upcoming birthday. Next month, you will be eighteen and on you're way to the adult ward. Are you nervous about that?"

I try to focus on the question, but the boy sitting next to me keeps doing his annoying habit of flicking himself under his chin.

"Ummm, the adult ward," I repeat, and rub my temples, "Nope, I have a friend there. Elena. She doesn't talk, and I talk a lot, so we make a good pair."

Henrik laughs again.

"Well, good. I'm glad you have a friend to keep you company," the leader says, marking something on her clip board, "That concludes our session for today. Great progress everyone, keep it up!"

I'm the first one out the door as I head straight to the recreational room. I pass by the cafeteria on my way there and smell the awful fumes for what mystery foods they've cooked for dinner today. We don't get to eat anything really tasty here. Everything is fake and processed. I miss junk food, real sugars and starches. Just a few more months before I can have that again.

I make it to the rec room and collapse face first into the soft couch. I bend my knees and rest my chest on my thighs with my bottom sticking up slightly. I bury my face in the cushion and let my arms lay loosely at my sides. It's been a long, hard day. Thank goodness it's almost over.

"That looks comfortable, you sleep like that?" I hear a sarcastic, familiar voice say from behind.

I peak my head up from my hiding place and see Klaus, leaning on his forearms behind the couch, smiling down on me. I sit up and chuckle. That smile can turn anyone's bad day around.

He straightens himself up, "Oh there you are."

"Hey you," I say, resting my chin on the top of the couch.

He walks around and plops himself down next to me, "Long day?"

Ugh. No more questions, _please_.

"Leave me alone," I say, shifting my back to him. It takes me a second to realize what I just did and I cringe. I turn back around to face him, "Sorry, I didn't mean that. I've been off and on all day."

"That's fine, I can wait," he says patiently.

I stare down at my fidgeting thumbs in my lap.

"How long would you wait?" I ask quietly, out of curiousity.

I look up to see him smiling again, "As long as it takes."

I lean my head back on the couch and close my eyes.

"I don't want to answer anymore questions today," I tell him sincerely.

"Okay, what do you want to do?" he asks.

"Nothing..." I say, then it hit me. I pop open my eyelids and turn to him, "No. today, I get to ask _you_ questions."

**Klaus's POV:**

"Oh really?" I ask her, half laughing at her playful, demanding tone.

Her face doesn't even flinch,"Yes."

"Very well then," I say, turning my body to her, "What would you like to know?"

"How old are you?"

I smile, "I'm twenty-three."

"So that's why you don't have your PHD yet," she says understandingly, but in a playful, mocking tone.

"Hey," I laugh, "Don't judge me. I'm working on it."

She moves on, "Are you still going to school?"

"I am," I tell her, "This internship is actually helping me with that. I get scholarships for taking this field seriously."

"Me too!" She says excitedly, "Except, well- my scholarship just has to do with not going crazy."

I laugh, "Well at least we're both determined to succeed."

"I'll say! I mean, c'mon, twenty-three and you're already a nurse? How do you think that makes the elderly lady nurses feel?" She leans in and brings her voice down to a whisper, "Me thinks your stomping on their feminist pride."

I laugh harder, "Hey, there are male nurses here too! What did I say about judging?"

"Yeah, but, besides you, Elijah, and Stefan, everyone else here is either female or kinda ooooold," she says, scrunching her face as if she just smelled something putrid.

"Well," I begin, "Stefan is in the same boat as me as far as nursing goes. He's determined to get his PHD too- Why are you laughing?"

She's hysterical now.

"I'm sorry, I can't!" she barely gets out, trying to contain herself by clutching onto her stomach, "You said 'nursing'... like with a baby!"

"Oh HA HA," I reply sarcastically, "Real mature Caroline."

"No, tell me, who does he plan on 'nursing' in the future?" She asks, and bends over laughing again.

It becomes contagious, I can't help but join her.

"He's a good nurse, be nice to him," I tell her, "And Elijah happens to be my brother, he's the one who helped me get this job."

"Shut up, that's right," she gasps in realization, "You two have the same last name! I didn't even think of that until now. But even without it, now that makes sense..."

"What does?" I ask her.

"Your _faces_," she says, "Seriously, what hot mess got all up in _your_ family's gene pool?!"

I laugh again, this time rubbing my hot face. Am I blushing?

"Thank you," I say, "I'm sure _Doctor_ Mikaelson would be pleased to hear that."

"No, don't tell him," she pleads with me, "That's so weird! He's my Doctor!"

"And what am I?" I ask curiously.

"A _Nurse_," she hisses.

"Judger," I call her.

"Alright, alright, moving on," she continues.

"Nope," I say, folding my arms, "You hurt my feelings, I don't want to tell you anything now."

"No! C'mon, Please?" she begs, trying to unfold my arms, "This is a _really_ important one. I'll be serious, I promise."

I laugh, "Fine."

"Okay..." she puts on a serious face, "The accent, is it real?"

Her sincerity makes me laugh harder, "Of course! My family and I are from London."

"But Elijah doesn't have it!" she exclaims.

I lean in, "That's because Elijah's a fake."

She stares behind me.

"Klaus called you fake!" she calls out, pointing her finger in my face.

"Wha-" I say turning around to see my elder brother walking past me. I can't even finish my statement. What just happened in here?

"Fake? With what exactly?" he asks, walking up to us.

"Your accent dear brother," I tell him, "Please show Miss Forbes your true self."

"Oh! Please, Elijah?" she begs, "It would _definitely_ help me sleep at night."

"Oh, it will?" He asks, raising an eyebrow.

She nods, and folds her hands neatly, putting them in her lap, "Most certainly."

"Well in that case my dear, I shall be happy to oblige," Elijah says, in his best English accent.

Caroline squeals, "Eeep! I _love_ it!"

"A tad bit rusty though, I'm afraid," I tell him.

"What are you talking about? He was great!" Caroline says, rolling her eyes at me.

"Oh would you like me to tell _Dr. Mikaelson_ what else you think of him?" I tease, flashing her a devilish grin.

She playfully kicks me.

"Ow!" I say.

Elijah changes the subject, "Klaus, would you please help Stefan bring the Hall B patients into the cafeteria for dinner?"

"Yeah, sure," I say, getting up from my seat.

"Hey, can we continue this later?" Caroline asks me.

"Sure, but I'll be the one asking questions this time," I say, flashing her a victorious smile as I walk away.

"Oh, fine," she says in a defeated tone.

"Hey, what was that about?" Elijah asks me as we walk down the hallway together.

"Oh, Caroline thinks our family's attractive," I tell him.

"Is that so? Wouldn't be the first time someone's thought that," he jokes, "BTW, which means 'by the way', I need you to work overtime tonight."

I groan, "How much overtime are we talking?"

"A few hours," he says lightly. Real smooth brother.

I sigh, "Alright."

I'm about to walk away when he says, "Hey, good job with Caroline. I haven't seen her in that good of a mood for a while. Well, at least since you've been around."

I smile, "Well you helped you know. Showing her you're native tongue and all-"

He interrupts me, "Shut it."

"Shutin'," I say, and walk the other direction.

I see Stefan at the end of the hallway and walk over to him.

"I already cleared everyone out down here," he says striding towards me.

I stop in my tracks and wait for him to join me, "Well, I guess I can just be lazy then. Overachiever."

"Don't I know it," he says nonchalantly as we walk to the cafeteria together.

Standing at the entrance of the cafeteria doorway is the other intern, Meredith. She's holding a clipboard and checking off her patients names as they enter the room. Stefan drags behind me as we approach the doors.

"H-Hi Meredith," I hear him say from behind.

"Hi Stefan," Meredith says simply and returns to her post.

Once we are inside and out of ear shot, I give him a smack behind his head.

"What was _that_?" I ask him, "Did you just _stutter_?"

He doesn't answer. His cheeks turn a light shade of pink as he walks away, trying to ignore me.

"Oh no, you've got it _bad_!" I say, chuckling, "Does she know?"

"_No_," he sighs, breaking out his ballpoint pen and clipboard, "You _can't_ tell her, Klaus."

"Oh, but what are friends for?" I tease, "No worries, I've got too much on my plate to be worrying about anyone's little affairs, let alone my own."

"Or lack there-of," his snorts back.

"Ouch," I reply sarcastically, "Take the attendance already, let's get out of here."

Stefan and I take roll of the patients, and dinner is soon over. Our duty now is to move the patients into their rooms and lock them in for the night. This, and making sure they receive all their necessary medications before bedtime.

Since Caroline is my personal patient, she's the first one I help.

"Why can't I just go back to taking pills that make my pee turn funny colors?" she says after gulping down her medication.

"Okay, I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that," I say, taking her disposable paper cup and throwing it in the trash.

"What, too much info?" she teases.

"Let's just get you to bed now okay?" I say as we walk to her room, "Tonight you can dream you're pissing out rainbows."

"Ha!" she cackles, and we reach her doorway, "Someone's anxious to go home."

"You have no idea," I mutter to her, unlocking the door to her room, "Good night room sixteen."

"Good night, _nurse_," she says, walking inside.

I'm just about to shut the door when she turns around and stops me.

"Oh! By the way," she starts, leaning in close to me, "Thanks for goofing around with me today. I really needed that."

Her face is sincere.

"Me too," I say, smiling down at her, "You always help make my work day more enjoyable."

Her face lights up. I've been seeing her do it for about a month now and for me, it never gets old. I love it.

"Good night, Klaus," she says, disappearing from the door-way and into her bathroom.

"Good night, Caroline," I say, and close the door, locking it.

After I make my rounds with a few other patients, I power-walk to the receptionist desk and enter the 'Staff Only' room. I grab my things out of my locker and change into my white v-neck and black sweatpants. I clock-out on the main computer and exit the room, leaving the receptionist desk behind me.

"Finally," I whisper to myself.

I'm just about to walk out the double glass doors, when I hear the loudest, most terrifying scream I have ever heard in my life, and it's coming directly from room sixteen.

**(A/N: Tell me what you guys think in the reviews! Your feedback fuuuuels me. BTW, if someone wants to make a gif set of some of the dialogue in this chapter, and send it to me on tumblr, I WOULD LOVE YOU FOREVER. Just sayin.)**


	3. I Won't Let You Go

**(A/N: Okay, to be quite honest, I get nervous whenever I write this story now. Lol. I did not expect all this amazing positive feedback and now I feel like I have a lot I need to hold up to. I'm so grateful for you guys and I don't want to let you down! So I will just try not to worry, and write it exactly how I always planned to, and hopefully you guys will like it all the same. :) That having been said, how many of you are actually listening to the songs I put in the chapters? Because this next one is BIG. It's "I Won't Let You Go" by James Morrison. Guuuuys, THIS SONG. Oh my Klaroline feels, I can't even. Just listen. Read. Review. ENJOY!)**

**Klaus's POV:**

I bolt down the hallway as fast as I can. Her room isn't far, but still, every step I make doesn't seem to be fast enough. Her screams are growing even louder and more agonizing.

"Caroline!" I call down the hallway, but she doesn't seem to hear me.

I reach her room and hit the door multiple times. A couple of night-duty security guards come over to see what the fuss is about.

"Caroline!" I call out again.

She starts banging from the other side, "Help! Help, Please! Let me out! LET ME OUT!"

I look through the small window on her door, but all I see is the back of her head. She seems to be staring at something in the corner of her bedroom. I fumble for my keys, and the two guards watch cautiously.

"I'm coming! I'm coming!" I yell as I search for the right key.

She shrieks again.

"_Please_," she begs through her helpless cries, "Somebody please _help me_!"

When I finally find the right key, I shove it into the lock and twist it with ease. The door flies open and she runs straight into me, clinging her body to my chest and wrapping her arms tightly around my torso.

She's hyperventilating. Her body is trembling and I can feel her heartbeat racing.

"Shh, it's okay, it's okay" I whisper into her hair, "It's me, it's okay, you're safe."

Her crying is muffled as she buries herself in my arms, my shirt absorbing her tears.

I lightly press her head to my chest with one hand, the other rubs her back in small, soothing circles.

"Caroline what happened?" I ask her calmly.

She takes a deep breath and then lets it out, "A ma-an a-attacked me w-with a knife."

"I'll check the room," one of the guards says, getting his handgun ready.

"Oh, whoa!" the other one exclaims, looking down at Caroline's back, "I should probably go get a first aid kit..."

I give him a confused look and then follow his gaze on Caroline's body. Just behind her left shoulder, she has a wide, open gash, quickly trickling blood down her back.

"Oh, jeez Caroline! You're bleeding!" I say, taking off my shirt and using it to apply pressure on her wound. I look at the guard, "Yes, get a first aid kit and grab whatever doctor is on staff for the night."

He rushes off to the other end of the hall, disappearing around the corner.

Caroline's body starts to shiver uncontrollably.

"Hey," I call to the other guard checking her room, "Could you hand me her blanket in there?"

I wait a few seconds, then he comes back out with his gun down.

"All clear," he says, handing me the blue blanket. It's thin and made of cotton, but it will have to do.

"He a-attacked me, and th-then he d-disappeared," she says, her teeth chattering.

I wrap the flimsy blanket tightly around her and hug her close to me, rubbing her arms and back to get her blood circulating.

"Was that everything that happened?" I ask, trying to maintain my blood-soaked shirt tightly on her shoulder while warming her body with my free hand.

"No," she says, and swallows, "Afterwardsss h-he re-appeared in the c-corner of my b-bedroom, motionless, w-with the knife stabbed in his ch-chest."

"Well it's over now, just take deep breaths," I tell her reassuringly, "I've got you, I won't let anything happen to you."

I fasten the blanket tighter on her and continue to create friction in her upper body. I've never seen her like this, it breaks my heart.

Suddenly it occurred to me that this whole month I've spent getting to know her positive side, I had never actually considered seeing her in distress.

It bothers me. In a protective way.

Helping her is not just a goal anymore, it's a necessity. She deserves the world.

"W-Where did your shirt go?" she asks abruptly, her mood changing a bit lighter, "What are you d-doing?"

"Trying to keep you from going into shock," I say with a light chuckle.

I look up and see Jenna Sommers, the doctor for the night, rounding the corner with the security guard from before.

"I've got it from here, Klaus, thank you," she says, seating Caroline on the floor.

The security guard that came with her hands me a clean, light blue t-shirt. I thank him and pull it over my head. It's a little snug, but it's wearable.

Dr. Sommers takes out some scissors from the first aid kit and makes a snip at the back of Caroline's shirt. She then pulls it apart, making a long rip, and gets to work on her shoulder.

"Klaus, I'm going to have to give her stitches," Jenna says, wiping Caroline's blood with gauze, "I need you to grab-"

"On it," I interrupt, and run down the hall. I already know what she needs, and I don't want to waste anymore time seeing Caroline in pain.

**Caroline's POV:**

I hear Klaus's footsteps sprint down the hall and I start to panic.

"Where is he g-going?" I ask Dr. Sommers. My shaking is becoming more manageable, but now my nose is all plugged up from crying.

"Just relax, sweetheart," she tells me, keeping the gauze on my wound, "He's coming back. He went to grab some things to help make you better."

The water starts to fill my eyes again. There's an unsafe feeling I get without him, and my anxiety builds higher. I feel myself coming apart. I never realized how badly I need him.

"It really hurts," I tell her, trying to revert my focus on my shoulder instead.

"I know. I know it does, honey," she reassures me, "He'll be back soon."

Just as she says the words, I can hear his speedy footsteps returning.

"I've got everything," he says, setting down a small tray of supplies, "What do you need me to do?"

"I'm going to pour this on her," says Dr. Sommers, picking up a bottle of rubbing alcohol, "I need you to keep talking to her, make sure she doesn't pass out."

"Oh no, this is going to hurt, isn't it?" I whine.

"Yes," Klaus says, not even trying to sugar-coat it, "Want me to tell you a joke and distract you? Will that help?"

She starts to lather it on.

"Gah! Yes, please!" I cry out, wincing from the pain.

"Here, squeeze my hand," he says, and I greatly accept his offer, "Alright, here we go: Knock, knock..."

I roll my eyes, "Who's there?"

"Interrupting cow-OW!" he exclaims, looking down at his hand that I'm crushing.

"Sorry," I lightly chuckle, and loosen my grip, "I've already heard this one. Tell another."

"Oh-," he says, as Dr. Sommers pours a different, yet still just as excruciating, solution into my open wound. I give a loud scream and grip harder onto Klaus's hand.

"That was Lidocaine," she says, wiping my back with gauze again, "You won't feel anything soon."

"Soon isn't fast enough," I grit through my teeth.

Klaus searches for another joke, "Erm, okay, Uh...Yo Mama's so fat, not even Dora can explore her."

"Who the _crap_ is Dora?" I ask irritably, mainly from the stitching needle starting to poke into me. The numbness hasn't kicked in yet.

"Oh, right. You haven't seen the show. Okay..." he says, trying to think of another, "What did the psychiatrist say to the naked man who walked in his office?"

"I don't know, what?" I say quickly, trying to get him to the punchline.

"I can clearly see you're nuts," he says with a smile.

The laughter forces its way out of me. Ridiculous, I wasn't even expecting that. What a pun!

"That's not funny," I say, but now I'm laughing even harder, "Oh man, that was _terrible_, Klaus!"

Everyone else around us starts laughing.

"Sorry," he chuckles out, "I don't have many good jokes."

"Do us all a favor, stay in the medical field, kay?" I say to him, light chuckles still making their way out of my throat.

He laughs back, his perfect grin relieving my worries and filling me with comfort.

"Okay, all done!" Dr. Sommers says, and I reluctantly let go Klaus's hand, "Klaus can bandage you up and you'll be free to go back to bed."

My stomach drops.

"NO," I beg, "Please, _ please_ don't make me go back in there."

"You'll have to go back in there sometime Caroline," she says, standing up and taking off her rubber gloves.

"I know I do, just, _please _not tonight," I say to her, and then look at Klaus.

He's contemplating something, "What if she stayed in the ER for the night?"

"What?" she replies, looking at Klaus incredulously, "That's for injured patients only."

"Is she not injured?" he asks sarcastically, pointing to my left shoulder.

She sighs and gives him a reproving look, "_Seriously_ injured patients, Klaus."

"Dr. Sommers," he begins, trying to butter her up, "I know you mean well, but do you think, just this once, you can let it slide?"

She sighs, "Do whatever you want Klaus, but she's _your_ responsibility."

"Fine by me," he says, and she gives him a respectful nod before walking away.

Klaus bends over to clean up the supplies on the floor, piling everything on the tray. He looks up at me.

"Thank you," I mouth to him.

"Your welcome," he mouths back, and smiles.

"You can go ahead and lock the room, boys," he says to the security guards, "I got it from here."

He stands up, tray in hands, and gestures for me to follow him.

**Klaus's POV:**

I take her to the hospital's emergency room down one of the hallways, and seat her on one of the many empty beds. I put the tray aside and pull out some rubber gloves, bandages, medical tape, and healing cream.

"Turn sideways," I tell her, putting on my rubber gloves and tossing the rest of the supplies on the bed.

She does as she's told. I dab a small portion of cream on her back and she jolts upwards.

"Woo! That's cold!" she says, shaking her shoulders.

"It'll get warm in a second," I say, smoothing it out on her skin. I grab the medical tape, and make her a thick bandage.

"How many stitches do I have?" She asks me just before I cover them up.

I do a quick count.

"Seven," I say, and place the bandage on top of it.

I take off my gloves and pat down the tape one more time, making sure it stays secure. My fingers accidentally make contact with her skin, and they slowly start to graze across her smooth, warm surface.

I halt to a stop.

Right then, I become very aware of the small round cameras on the ceiling. I quickly remove my hand and go to the trash can to throw away my gloves.

"You okay back there?" she asks humorously.

I clear my throat.

"Your shirt is destroyed," I say, walking to one of the cabinets and grabbing her a clean, white scrub top, "Here's a new one."

I toss it over to her.

She immediately takes off her old shirt, revealing herself in just a bra. I whip myself around, covering my eyes with one hand.

No warning, _great_. Well, _that_ caught me off-guard.

"You done yet?" I call over to her.

"You know," she starts, "If you're going to be a doctor, you're going to have to start getting comfortable with the female anatomy."

"Just trying to give you space," I tell her.

"Yes, you can look now," she says, and I turn around to see her smiling, "Giving me space, huh? Is that what ended things with you and your last girlfriend?"

"Very funny Caroline," I say lightheartedly, sitting in the chair next to the bed, "I don't have time for girls anymore."

"Just me, right?" she says with a cheesy grin, her eyes flashing up at the ceiling innocently.

"Don't try to be cute," I mock.

She giggles, "Who says I'm trying?"

I laugh back with her.

I haven't actually thought much about relationships since I've been here. I suppose that's because I don't feel lonely when I'm with her.

"Alright, Dimps," I call her, referring to the dimples in her smile, "It's time for you to go to bed."

I stand up and get the bed covers ready for her to slide into.

"Dimps! I like that nick-name," she says, slipping her legs underneath the blanket and tilting her head back onto the pillow.

"Oh, ow!" She exclaims, jolting back up and rubbing her shoulder.

"You want some ice?" I ask her.

"Definitely, please," she says painfully, and turns around to lay flat on her stomach.

I grab a pre-made ice bag from the freezer and walk it over to her. I gently press it onto her left shoulder, keeping it in place as I sit back down in my chair.

I notice the tone in her face has changed. She's sad.

"What is it?" I ask sincerely.

"Three months...," she chokes out, the water starting to build up in her eyes again, "I was halfway there."

"Shh, don't think about that right now," I say, wiping a fallen teardrop from her cheek, "We'll talk in the morning, for now I want you to try and rest."

"Will you stay until I fall asleep?" she asks cautiously, looking into my eyes.

"No," I say, looking back into hers, "I'll stay all night."

Another tear makes its way down her face.

"I'm so sorry," she sniffles, "I know you've been waiting to go home all day-"

"Don't be sorry," I reassure her, "I've already punched out, I'm off the clock. Tonight, you and I will be home for each other, okay?"

"But-" she protests.

Her eyes are starting to droop. Her sleeping pill must be kicking back in.

"Hey," I say, leaning in close to her, "No one is making me stay here but me. Got it?"

She nods tiredly, "... Klaus?"

"Yeah?" I say, watching her sagging lids close over her blue eyes.

"You really are... like home to me..." she says quietly, trailing off into a deep slumber.

I give a soft sigh, "So are you..."

I lay my head down on the comfy bed and start to drift with her.

She whimpers lightly every fifteen minutes or so, but whenever she does, I just hold onto her hand and gently stroke it with my thumb. That seems to settle her and put her back to sleep.

At one point in the night, I open my eyes to check on her and see how she's doing. She sleeps facing me, holding my hand close to her like a teddy bear.

I smile and move the blonde hair out of her face. She really is beautiful.

**(A/N: Leave me a review to let me know what you think! P.S. I looooove the gifs you guys have been making for the story! Please keep it up and post them to tumblr in the klaroline tag so I can see themmmm. My user name is the same as this one. :-D)**


	4. Into the Ocean

**(A/N: I think I'm in love with every one of you readers. Thank you SO much for your ongoing support! I hope this chapter clears up some questions you guys had. The title/song is "Into the Ocean" by Blue October. Listen. Read. Review. Enjoy!)**

**Klaus's POV:**

"Good morning sunshine, that shirt tight enough for you?" I hear Elijah's voice tease. His startling presence causes me to jolt upwards from my hunched sleeping position on the bed. The chair I'm seated in rolls back a little and I have to reassess my surroundings.

I wipe the drool off my face and see Caroline in front of me, still sleeping soundly.

"What time is it?" I ask him in my scratchy morning voice, and readjust my eyesight to focus on him.

"Early," he tells me and stifles a laugh, "Why don't you go home and shower up a bit, eat something... maybe give the shirt back to whatever little boy you stole it from?"

I'm too groggy to retort anything witty back, so I just get right to business, "Caroline-"

"Don't worry," he interjects, "Dr. Sommers already filled me in. I still need to look over the video footage and you need to give her a physical. So hurry up and go home, she should be up and about by the time you come back."

I nod my head and slowly get up from my seat, rubbing my eyes to try to keep them open.

Caroline is still clutching onto my other hand. I gently pry it away from her, she doesn't wake.

"You know, you didn't have to stay," Elijah says, eying her motionless hand that now rests loosely next to her head on the pillow.

"I know," I reply, "But I wanted to make sure she was okay."

"Well, she definitely trusts you," he says with a smile, "I'll see you soon, drive safe."

And with that, I leave. It's still slightly dark outside, so I don't even dare look at the clock to check the time.

When I arrive back at my apartment, I turn on all the lights and slam the front door shut.

Kol tumbles off of the couch.

"Ugh, _why_ Klaus?" he groans.

"Little brother," I begin, "_I _pay the rent in this household, and until we start school again, I have no respect for your poor choice of sleeping habits."

He spends every night playing video games and partying with his friend Damon until three in the morning, I have no sympathy for him. Sure it's early, but his lazy ass can use a wake-up call.

He groans again and buries his face into the couch pillows, "You're a terrible human being."

"I regret nothing!" I shout, making my way to the kitchen.

I purposefully make loud noises as I prepare breakfast: clanking dishes, slamming cabinets, etc. As I'm doing this, I watch him pull one of the pillows over his head, trying to block out the sound.

After I'm done eating, I take out an extra bowl and poor some cereal for him. He makes his way back to the couch and collapses there, leaving the pillows scattered on the floor. I walk over and plop myself down on top of him. He groans.

"Here ya go buddy," I say, as I hold out the bowl, inches from his face, "Made it just the way you like it."

"I hate you," he mumbles.

"Well, the cereal's not gonna wait for you to eat it so..." I say, and dump the contents of the bowl on his face.

"Ugh!" He shouts.

"I guess the cereal is just going to have to eat _you_!" I chuckle out, and quickly get up, backing away from him.

"What is _wrong_ with you!?" He shouts, wiping the milk and soggy 'O's' from his eyes.

"Oh no," I say, still laughing, "It looks like you could use a shower. It's a pity I'm getting in there first!"

I run into the bathroom and shut the door behind me, locking it. I hear him pound his fist on the other side.

"You've got it coming, Klaus!" He shouts, his voice becoming more faint as he walks away, "Just you wait!"

"Yeah, I'll wait," I reply, taking off my clothes and turning the shower head on, "I'll wait while you keep sleeping, sound good?"

I don't hear him say anything back, he must have gone back to the couch and passed out.

After I shower, I brush my teeth and put on some clean scrubs. I seem to be rushing myself, but I have plenty of time to spare. I just really want to get back to the hospital, find out what happened to Caroline, and make sure she's doing okay.

I grab my keys and and make my way out the door. I take one last look at Kol, who is still curled up on the couch motionless.

What a bum.

I take one of the small candles from the side table and chuck it at him just before I leave. He mutters something profane as I close the door behind me and smile.

When I return back to the hospital, I put my things in my locker and clock-in on the computer. Just before I return to the room where Caroline is, Elijah catches me and pulls me aside.

He shows me the video footage from the night before and although I know what happened, what he has to show me is very interesting: Just before the incident occurred, Caroline is shown walking into her bathroom. On the walls inside are a couple of shelves with sharp edges. The camera in her room does not show the bathroom, for obvious reasons. But from the very corner of the doorway, we see her run her back into edge of the shelf, repeatedly.

That's how she got her wound.

"Alright, I've seen enough," I tell him, "So what happens now?"

"Well," He says, pausing the video and giving out a sigh, "Now you need to give her a physical while I call her psychologist."

"But I thought he only comes in on Tuesdays..." I say.

"No, Dr. Gilbert is on call whenever something like this happens," he says, scribbling something down on his clipboard.

"Alright then, see you soon," I say, and take Caroline's file from him.

As soon as I enter the room where she is, her face lights up. I can't help but do the same.

"_Helloooooooo_ nurse!" she says, and I chuckle at her imitation of the line used in 'Anamaniacs'.

"Doing better I see. Did you take a shower?" I ask, pointing to her wet hair.

"Yup!" she says, and flings it at me, getting water droplets on my face.

"Very nice, Dimps," I say, reusing my nick-name for her, "I have to do my job now, you think you can help me with that?"

"I suppose," she replies grimly.

I put a fresh bandage on her and check her temperature, blood-pressure, and heartbeat. When I weigh her in, something seems off.

I check her file again, "Caroline, it says here that your weight yesterday was one twenty-three..."

"Yeah, I know," she replies carelessly.

"Then why does your weight right now read one seventeen?"

"Um... I sweat and cry a lot when I hallucinate," she responds nervously, avoiding my gaze.

"I understand that, would you care to explain why you're _six_ pounds lighter than yesterday?"

She looks into my eyes and pauses for a moment.

"I threw up dinner last night and missed breakfast this morning," she says quietly.

"You didn't eat?" I sigh, "Caroline, you need to eat."

"Hey, _you_ try the food here. It's bad enough on its own, let alone eating it eight years straight. I can hardly keep it down anymore!"

Elijah enters the room.

"How are we doing in here?" he asks and takes a look at the notes I've been jotting down in her file. He suddenly frowns, and I know he's seen her weight.

"Not good Caroline," he says, and makes clicking noises with his tongue, "Keep this up and I'm going to have to start making you call me Dr. Mikaelson again."

Well at least he still has a sense of humor.

"She threw up last night," I tell him, "Everything else is normal."

He looks up from the file, "Did you force yourself?"

"No sir," she replies respectfully.

"Was it before or after you took your pills?" He asks.

"After," she responds.

"Huh," he expresses curiously, looking back down at the file, "And you still slept?"

"Like a baby," I say, and give her a wink. She smiles.

"Well that is very interesting," he says, and hands the file back to me, "Klaus, let's take some of her blood, I want to run a test."

I nod my head and grab the supplies. As I'm doing this, I watch Elijah peel back her bandage to observe her wound.

"Still swollen I see," he says, looking at it intently, "Nothing a little ice can't fix. Dr. Sommers did a nice job patching you up. I'd say leave the stitches in for another week, and then we'll see if they're ready to come out."

He folds the bandage back on and pats down the sides to make it stick.

"How do you feel?" he asks her, and I walk over with the supplies.

"Physically?... Fine," she replies, "But I'm still confused. If I was hallucinating about the stabbing, then what gave me this?"

I look over to him, I can tell he's considering whether or not to tell her.

He makes up his mind quickly, "You backed up hard into the bathroom shelf at least three times."

"Oh... wow," she says, and looks down at her feet. Her face blushes, she seems embarrassed.

We don't bring it up again.

"Dr. Gilbert is on his way, Caroline" Elijah says after taking her blood, "I want you to go wait for him in conference room 'B'."

"You got it, boss man," she replies with less confidence than usual.

"Let's go, Klaus," Elijah says, patting me on the back, "You've got a mountain of paperwork to fill out."

I roll my eyes to the back of my head and give an exasperated sigh. He leaves the room.

"Is that my fault?" Caroline whispers, her voice strained.

I can tell she's trying not to cry.

"Hey," I say, putting my hands on her shoulders, "_None_ of this is you're fault, got it?"

She gives me a weak smile and nods her head. She's doubtful. I know her mind is still looping through last night, her face reads 'failure'.

"Caroline," I say, and tilt her chin up slightly to meet my eyes, "Remember, you _will_ get out of here. I promise."

Her bright blue eyes reflect back at mine. They are sad, but hopeful.

"Thank you...," she replies softly, "For taking care of me."

I try to keep it cheerful.

"That's what I'm here for," I say smiling, just before walking away, "Don't forget about meeting Dr. Gilbert."

"Good luck climbing your _mountain_!" she calls out to me.

"I'll be done before you!" I call back.

I hear her laugh as I walk out the door. I love her laugh. It's my favorite sound. Maybe that's why I'm so invested in her now. I have begun to really care, not just for her well-being, but for her happiness. She deserves it.

I go into the employee room and knock on Elijah's office door.

"Come in," he says, not looking up from his desk.

"You got that paperwork for me?" I ask, plopping myself down on the chair seated across from him.

"Yeah, getting it ready," he says, shuffling some papers around on his desk, "I don't think the blood test is going to be enough. We need more information."

"What are you saying?" I ask, leaning in.

He looks up at me, "I'm saying it's time to pay a visit to Liz Forbes."

**Caroline's POV:**

"I killed a spider yesterday," I tell Dr. Gilbert as he enters the room.

He chuckles a little.

"Yeah? Were you afraid of it?" He asks, sitting himself down in a chair across from me.

"No," I reply indifferently, "It just _looked_ creepy."

"Oh really?" He asks, getting out a pen and notepad from his bag.

"Yeah, and then afterwards I felt bad," I say, twiddling my thumbs on my lap, "Like, it didn't have to die, you know? Just because I didn't like the way it looked. Poor thing. It was probably like, 'I suffer because I'm ugly.'"

He smiles, "Well as interesting as that is, I'm not here today to talk about you killing spiders..."

I look down, "… I know."

"So," he starts, "You know the drill: Start from the beginning."

I take a deep sigh. Where do I even begin?

"Can you tell me what the man looked like?" he asks.

"I didn't see his face," I reply quickly.

"You didn't see his face, or you don't remember?"

"I DIDN'T SEE HIS FACE," I repeat with an edge of hostility. I don't like him assuming that I forget things all the time.

"Then how do you know it was a man?" He asks patiently, "It could have been a woman."

"Because he held onto me," I say, flinching at the memory, "I felt his body against my back. He was really strong. Then later, when I saw him at the corner of my bed, he had a knife stabbed in his chest. His face was turned the other way, so I didn't get a good look at him. But it was definitely a man."

He writes something down, "When I looked over the video footage, you were terrified. What frightened you about this man?"

"He was trying to kill me."

"With the knife?"

"Yes. And he...," I trail off.

"He what?" he asks, looking up from his notepad.

"He spoke to me."

"What did he say?"

"He called me a monster...," I say, wincing. Jeez, this is the worst part when I fall off the horse: revisiting the experience.

He jots down more notes, "Before or after he stabbed you?"

"Before," I reply.

He pauses writing for a moment to ask me another question, "At any moment during this incident, did you consider, maybe, that he wasn't real?"

"No, not during. I was too scared at that moment to think of anything else. But when he disappeared, I realized it must have been a hallucination."

I know myself too well.

"Did that knowledge relieve you at all?" He asks.

"Nope."

"Explain."

"Because right afterwards," I begin, "I saw him again; dead in the corner of my bedroom. I knew he wasn't real, but I was still afraid of him and what he might do to me."

"I see," he says, and looks up at me, "Maybe what you need to do is focus on how you look at fear, and not how fear looks at you."

I know what he's asking me, "I can't just be the boss of my hallucinations, it's not that simple."

"Sure it is," he replies simply, "Take your spider incident for example: You weren't afraid of it, but you thought it looked creepy. So you killed it."

"Yeah, so?"

"So, what you need to do is change your _perception_ of these hallucinations. Sure, they're scary. But you don't have to be _scared_..."

Oh jeez, here we go again. He's regurgitated the same crap to me before. 'I can't control my hallucinations, but I can always control how they make me _feel_. Blah, blah, blah...' He tells me to redirect my thinking to something that makes me happy. But the problem is, I don't have anything that makes me happy enough to overpower my fear.

I can see that this is as far as we'll be getting today, so I take a deep sigh and rub my forehead.

" ...Okay," I tell him.

"Then that's what we'll continue to work on," he says, and closes my folder, "You may go now, dear. Thank you for your cooperation."

I jump up from my seat and let myself out. What a waste of time.

**(A/N: Don't forget: if you make gifs on tumblr, tag them under 'klaroline'. My username on there is the same as this one. I love you guys! Tell me what you thiiiiiink!)**


	5. All Fall Down

**(A/N: Alright my lovely readers. First of all I just want to give a HUGE THANKS for pushing me up to my first 100 reviews EVER! You guys have no idea how much that means to me. I will find a way to reward you all greatly. Secondly, a lot of questions get answered in this chapter, so read carefully. The title/song for this chapter is "All Fall Down" by OneRepublic. Listen. Read. Review. Enjoy!)**

**Klaus's POV:**

About a week and a half after Caroline's hallucination, her mother finally agreed to meet with Elijah and I in person. Liz's work schedule had been impossible to work around due to her demanding role as the sheriff in town. However, she has been very cooperative with setting aside some time for us to stop by the house and see her today. Unfortunately, Elijah can't make it to the appointment because of a last minute emergency with another patient, so I'm on my own.

I walk up to the patio of house #20133 on Oso Avenue and knock on the front door. Liz answers it almost immediately.

"Hello Klaus," she says with a smile, "Please, come in."

"Thank you, Liz," I say, stepping inside, "Elijah sends his apologies, he couldn't make it today."

"Oh," she expresses, closing the door, "Is it just you then?"

"Yeah," I say, "I hope that's alright with you."

"Oh no, that's fine. Go on and make yourself at home. Would you like something to drink?" She asks, making her way into the kitchen.

"Water please," I say, heading into the living room and setting my book bag down by the couch.

I dressed in business casual clothes for our appointment, wearing black slacks, a white button up shirt, and a red tie. Rebekah helped me pick out the clothes. She's the fashion conscious one in the family.

I take a look around at the picture frames on the walls as she calls to me from the other room.

"Would you like any ice?" she asks.

"Sure," I reply.

One picture in particular catches my eye. It's of Liz with a seven-year old version of Caroline. They're making a sand castle together at the beach. Caroline is missing a few teeth in the photo, but her smile is as radiant as ever. She's happy.

Liz comes into the room, "Here you go, I see you found Caroline."

"Thank you," I say taking the water from her, "She wasn't very hard to find."

I move on to the other pictures and notice a peculiar pattern in all of them...

"Where is Caroline's father?" I ask, still gazing at the photos. When I don't hear an answer, I turn my head to look at her.

She clears her throat, "We divorced when Caroline was eight."

"My apologies," I tell her, walking to the couch, "I didn't mean to pry."

I sit down and pull Caroline's file out of my bag.

"It's nothing," she says, sitting herself down across from me, "So what are we discussing today, Klaus?"

I pause a moment before opening her file and then look her in the eye, "We need more information about Caroline. There are missing gaps in her history before she came into the ward-"

"Let me stop you there," she says, raising a hand, "I'm well aware of this, I've told your people everything I know."

"Not everything," I say, and glance at the papers, "Under Caroline's father you put '_Not Applicable',_... Is there anything you can tell us about him?"

"No," she replies sternly.

"Alright," I say closing the folder; I've had enough of this, "Let me be straight with you: I've never seen Caroline suffer through a hallucination before. My first time was a week and a half ago. You know this, this is old news to you. And maybe _you're_ used to seeing her like that, but I won't let myself get that comfortable. I refuse to see her that miserable again. So I am _begging_ you, for Caroline's sake, tell me what you know..."

She doesn't say anything for a moment, then out of no where, smiles, "When I went to visit Caroline after the incident, she told me all about how you helped her. You made her laugh to take her mind off of the pain. You stayed with her and held her hand the whole night so she didn't have to be afraid or alone. You take care of her and change her bandages every day..."

I see water start to form in her eyes.

"What are you trying to tell me, Liz?" I ask her carefully.

She shrugs, "You look out for my little girl. Thank you."

I nod my head, "I try to keep her happy..."

"That's why she trusts you," she says, wiping a fallen tear and straightening herself up, "And that's why... I trust you."

She's about to tell me something. I lean forward and prepare myself for what she has to say.

She takes a deep sigh, "Caroline's father also suffered from Delirium..."

I have no words. My mind is now scrambling with a billion questions. I feel my blood start to boil under my skin, but I push my anger aside. I may not get her this vulnerable again, I need to keep her talking.

I close my eyes and put my head down, "Why didn't you _say _anything?"

She answers immediately, "I didn't want to risk Caroline knowing about her father. She's damaged enough."

"Still, Liz," I say, now looking up at her, "It would have been nice to know, for Caroline's sake, that her family has a mental health history."

"I should have stated it in her file, you're absolutely right. But Klaus," she pauses, "_Please_... don't tell Caroline."

Well I certainly didn't see that coming.

I furrow my eyebrows and keep my eyes locked on hers, "She has no recollection of her father at all, why are you so keen to leave it that way?"

"You don't understand-," she starts.

I interject, "What?- that you and your husband split, and since you want nothing to do with him, you're making sure Caroline feels the same way?"

She raises her voice, "NO."

"_What _then," I snap back.

"If Caroline remembers," her voice cracks, "It will only make her condition worse."

I pause before continuing, "If she remembers what?"

"It's what caused her disorder to start in the first place," she states vaguely.

Silence.

"You're not going to tell me what it was, are you?" I scoff.

She shakes her head.

I'm done here.

"Thank you for your time Liz," I say, putting Caroline's folder back in my bag, "I'll see myself out."

I pull my bag strap over my head and walk towards the front door.

She follows me, "Klaus, you have to trust me. DON'T TELL CAROLINE. It was worse when she knew!"

I turn to face her.

"_What_ was worse?" I hiss back.

"Her state of mind! Believe it or not, she is getting better this way.

I roll my eyes and laugh, shaking my head.

"Oh good, you know everything," I reply sarcastically, "Look Liz, I may not be a doctor yet, but I sure as hell have a lot more of a say than you when it comes to knowing what's best for my patient."

"Klaus _please_...," she begs, "I can give you his progress notes, physicals, _everything_. But If you truly care about Caroline, you'll listen. _Don't_ tell her about him. I know my daughter. Believe me."

There's a part of me that deeply considers what she's saying is true. The other part, the more dominant, will do anything to get a hold of those files. I need that information if I'm going to help Caroline, I have to obey her wishes.

I take a deep sigh, "Alright Liz. You win. I won't say anything to her."

She takes a sigh of relief, "Thank you. Wait here."

She disappears into another room and returns a moment later with a stack of folders in her hands. I take them from her and leave the house with out uttering another word.

I jump into my car and toss the files in the passenger seat out of frustration, not even bothering to look at them. They stay in place as I peel out of the neighborhood, leaving Caroline's childhood home behind.

I'm really not supposed to abuse my car like that. It's a 2001 red Grand Cherokee, and I need it for everyday use. But I also needed to vent somehow. I had too much emotion building up in me and it had to be released.

I stop at a red light and take in a deep breath. I hold it for ten seconds and then release. Much better.

The light turns green and I'm about to start moving again, when something tiny and furry catches the corner of my eye.

It's a small dog. He sniffing around in the gutter for something.

The car behind me honks, so I flash on my emergency lights and wave for him to go around. He does just that, and then flips me off as he passes by.

What a model citizen.

I park my car and quickly run outside to fetch the pup.

There's no collar, but I can see he's a boy; A chocolate lab, covered with dirt and leaves. He's very small, no bigger than the pillow I sleep on at night.

"Hey little guy," I say, scooping him up in my arms.

He licks my face. I chuckle softly.

I lift my head up and look around to find his owner, but there's no one in sight. I definitely can't leave him here. This pooch needs to be taken care of.

I'm taking him back with me to the hospital.

I'll explain to Elijah... somehow.

When I arrive, I wrap the pup in one of my sweaters and sneak him inside. The receptionist doesn't stop me to get checked by security anymore, she knows my face now.

I quickly take him into the employee room and he starts to whimper.

"Shh, it's okay," I tell him softly.

I enter Elijah's office, but no one is there. I bend over and let the puppy down onto the floor.

He doesn't move, he just sits there and looks up at me innocently.

"Wanna take a piss on Elijah's memos?" I ask him jokingly.

"Oh c'mon, really Klaus?!" I hear Elijah exclaim from behind me.

I whip around to see him in the doorway, wearing no smile.

"Look, I know what you're thinking, he'll be out of here after today," I tell him.

"Save it," he starts, "Put him in one of the conference rooms or something, I don't care- Did you get any information?"

"Oh, you just wait," I tell him teasingly, "Let me run back to my car and show you something that's gonna _blow_ your mind."

"Take the dog!" he says, while walking behind his desk and muttering, "...Tellin' him to crap on my things- what's the matter with you?"

"It was just a joke, I'm sorry," I say laughing, and scooping the dog back in my arms.

"I'm just fed up today," he says, rubbing his face in his hands, "I had to deal with another 'Anna episode'. She was yelling at one of her imaginary friends for an hour and a half."

"Well I'm glad I wasn't here for that," I say, walking out the door, "I'll be right back!"

I quickly grab a bowl in the kitchen and fill it up with water. The pup squirms in my arm, but I've got a firm hold on him. I set him down in one of the small, empty conference rooms and put the bowl on the floor next to him. I see him drink the water for a moment, and lock him inside.

Then I make a dash out to my car, grab the files, and run straight back into Elijah's office.

"Here," I say, plopping them down on his desk, "Take a look, you're not gonna believe this."

Elijah sits down and opens one of the files.

"Wow, you should get a raise," he says, eyes glued to the papers, "If only you weren't an intern..."

"Just trying to do my job," I say, sitting down across from him, "Isn't that rediculous? She didn't bother to say _anything_ for years, and also wants us to keep our mouths shut around Caroline."

"It's terrible," he says, shaking his head, "But it makes sense."

"What does?" I ask, surprised, "The woman detests her ex-husband and wants Caroline to feel the same way!"

"_What_? No, Klaus..."

"Well, what then?"

He pauses and looks up at me, "Did you even read the information?"

I shake my head.

He sighs, "Liz didn't say anything because her husband's disorder, the same one Caroline has, could have possibly led him to take his own life."

I'm so lost. I grab the paper from his hands and quickly read through it.

Wow, he's right. He _did_ kill himself. And it looks like his condition could have very well been the reason.

"Oh...," I say quietly.

"She probably doesn't want Caroline to remember the details because it's what triggered delirium for her," he says, taking the papers back.

Wow. It does make sense.

"Are we going to tell Caroline?" I ask.

He shrugs indifferently, "No, just obey the mother's wishes for now. Caroline will be eighteen soon enough, and when that happens it will be _her_ decision."

I nod my head in agreement.

"Do want to review these?" he asks, holding up one of the folders.

I hesitate, "Do I need to?"

I see the look in his eyes, he knows that I don't like keeping secrets from her.

"No, you don't need to," he says with an understanding smile, "It's going to take me a while to look through it all, there's a lot of information here. But I'll let you know if I come across anything you need to take note of."

"Thanks, Elijah."

"Hey, you work hard enough," he says, closing the folders, "And I actually need Caroline to keep trusting you right now."

There was a peculiar tone in his voice suggesting that he has ulterior motives.

"Why is her trust important right _now_?" I ask curiously.

He stands up and grabs the files, "I'll let you know after I speak with John. He needs to see these as well."

He comes around the desk, taps me with the folders, and then leaves the room.

Of course, John Gilbert, her psychiatrist. Caroline told me all about her useless visit with him last week. Something tells me that even with all this new information, he's still not going to be able to get through to her. I think he has stopped trying.

This is probably why she trusts me so much, I don't give up on her.

**Caroline's POV:**

I am so incredibly bored. I have nothing to do today.

I tried to take a nap after Anna's yelling contest with herself, but I couldn't. All I could hear was her loud, high pitched scream resonating in my ears.

I'm sitting on the couch in the Rec room right now, twiddling with my thumbs.

I always do this. It's a pointless habit. Just like the boy who likes flicking himself on the chin.

Anna's crying in the corner, mumbling to herself about how alone she is.

I roll my eyes. Join the club.

"Hey there, stranger," I hear a male voice say from behind me.

I turn around and gasp in surprise, "Jeremy!?"

I hop over the couch and jump onto him.

"Hey Care Bear!" he says, swinging me in a circle.

"I haven't seen you in forever!" I say as he sets me back down, "How's Elena doing?"

He pauses and looks off to the side, "Not good. Matt is with her right now, we're still hoping for the best."

I don't pry any further. She may be Jeremy's sister, but she's also Matt's girlfriend, and he's really not taking it well. She's been in here for about a year, and they come to visit her almost everyday. And everyday she's seems to slip further and further away. I'll be honest, I'm a little afraid to see her again when I'm transferred into the adult ward. Last time Jeremy saw her, he told me she was like a vegetable.

"I understand, please send her my love," I tell him sympathetically, "And that I'll be seeing her soon!"

"You got it," he tells me with a wink.

Anna's cries become louder. She's seeking attention.

"Would you _shut up_?!" I call over to her.

Jeremy looks over at her. His mouth falls open a little.

"What's wrong?" he asks me, still gazing at her.

"Nothing," I tell him, "Just her normal psychotic behavior."

He walks over and leans down by her.

I eavesdrop on their conversation.

"Hey, I'm Jeremy," he tells her softly.

She looks up at him.

What the crap is happening right now?

"Hi," she says meekly.

"Can you tell me your name?" he asks sweetly.

"I don't know who I am right now," she says, crying even harder, "I'm so alone! I don't know what's real and what's not!"

He pulls a rubber band off of his wrist, and sticks it around hers.

"Here, snap that," he tells her.

She slowly pulls the rubber band back, and lets go, "Ow!"

"That's how you know what's real. You can feel it. Even if it hurts," he says with a smile, "This is real. And I'm here with you right now, so you're not alone. Now, can you tell me your name?"

She stares up into his eyes bewilderingly.

"...Anna," she whispers softly.

"Hello, Anna," he says, wiping her tears.

Ugh, they make me sick. What a hopeless relationship. What is he thinking?

I am about to turn around and head back to my room for the day when I feel a scruffy chin and a pair of warm lips lean against my ear. My heart flutters in surprise, I know who it is. My assumption is validated when his lips part and a sweet, familiar voice escapes from them.

"I have a surprise for you," Klaus whispers.

**(A/N: Okay, I know there's not a lot of Klaroline in this chapter, but the information was important! And the next chapter will be MUCH better. Please remember to review! Your criticism really helps!)**


	6. The Only Exception

**(A/N: THIS CHAPTER IS DEDICATED TO MY FRIEND YANA (aka: queenofklaroline)! I made Caroline's birthday the same as hers, so there will be celebrating of said birthday in the chapter after this one!... So check this out, since you have all been so wonderful with this story in following, favoriting, and reviewing, I've decided I want to put one of you into my story! Leave a review on this chapter with your name and I will pick at random for who gets the spot. The person's name will be stated in the next chapter. The title/song for this chapter is "The Only Exception", by Paramore. Listen. Read. Review. Enjoy!)**

**Caroline's POV:**

I smile and turn around as he takes my hand and leads me to one of the nearby conference rooms.

When he opens the door, he comes around me quickly and covers my eyes with his hands. I'm giggling with excitement.

"Move forward," he whispers.

I walk into the room and sense something smelly in the air. This better not be a joke.

He kicks the door shut behind us and then uncovers my eyes.

I clasp my hands over my mouth and let out a small shriek. It's a puppy!

"Oh my gosh, Klaus!" I say, getting down on my knees and letting the pup sit on my lap, "Where did you get him?"

"I found him," he says, kneeling down beside me.

"I haven't seen a real puppy in _years_!" I exclaim, the words getting caught in my throat. All of a sudden, I feel water start to build in my eyes.

"Hey, you're not allowed to cry," he commands me playfully, "This is supposed to make you happy."

"I know," I say, taking a quick breath, "I just miss things like this."

"You won't have to soon enough," he tells me with a smile.

I smile back. Sometimes I think he has more faith in me than I do.

"Can we keep him?" I ask hopefully.

"No, no we can't," he says shaking his head.

"Oh _please_?" I beg, "If he can't stay here, can't he stay with you?"

"You mean at my apartment? I wouldn't even be able to take care of him."

"Can't you find a way? Please! I'll do anything!"

He gives me a look of consideration, and changes his mind.

"I'll think about it, but we have to give him a bath first. I'm not taking him home like this."

I lunge myself forward and wrap my arms tightly around him.

"Thank you, Klaus!" I say, giving him a quick kiss on the cheek.

He tenses up, and then clears his throat, "You're welcome."

Then he breaks us apart and, without looking at me, picks up the dog.

"What do you want to name him?" He asks, opening the door.

"I don't know," I say, following him out the door, "Nice outfit by the way, you look like Clark Kent or something."

He looks down at his clothes, "Yeah, I'll probably have to take my shirt to the cleaners after this. Our pup got his filth all over me."

"Well that just means he likes you," I say with a chuckle.

"Thanks Dimps, but you still didn't answer my question. What do you want to name the fur ball?" he asks as we enter my room.

"Umm...," I think, going into my bathroom and turning on the light, "Zokie."

"_Zokie_?" He asks incredulously, turning on the bath, "No, forget it. I won't ask. Zokie it is."

"Yay! I'm so happy!" I exclaim.

Klaus sets him down in the water, but he starts to squirm.

"Close the door, so he doesn't run out," he tells me, holding Zokie in place.

I do as he says and then kneel beside him at the tub.

This is the first time that Klaus and I have been completely alone. No doctors, patients, or cameras watching. I feel relaxed.

"Here, hold him there for a sec," he says, and I take Zokie in my hands.

He starts to whimper a little. The water is fine, he's just probably scared.

"Don't be scared, I'm here," I tell him, lightly pouring water onto his head.

I take a glance at Klaus, who has now taken off his red tie and is rolling up the sleeves of his button up shirt.

He looks _good_. I can't seem to turn my head away.

"You should pop your collar," I tell him jokingly.

"What, you want me to look like a frat boy?" he asks, finishing up his last sleeve.

"It's a change," I say, pulling the leaves and twigs out of Zokie's fur, "I like seeing you without your scrubs on."

No sooner after I said it, did I realize how that sounded. I glance back at him, he stares at me with a sly smile.

"I mean-," I couldn't find the words, "That's not what I meant."

He pops out his collar while looking at me, and then bounces his eyebrows up and down.

I let out a loud laugh. He laughs with me.

"So what's the occasion?" I ask gesturing to his tie that is now hanging on the towel rack.

He kneels down beside me and helps wash our puppy.

"I saw your mom today," he says lightly.

"What?" I say, turning to him, "Why?"

He smiles, "To talk about you."

My eyes focus on him,"Well, what did you say?"

He looks up at me while still scrubbing, "That I care about you."

Having him look into my eyes and say that sent chills up my spine and twirls in my stomach. My body is trying to tell me something, but I don't understand what it's saying. Why am I feeling this way?

I push the feeling aside and turn my head back to Zokie who is resting his chin on the side of the tub.

"I don't know why you care so much," I say glumly, "I'm weak."

From the corner of my eye I can see him shake his head, "You're stronger than you think, Caroline."

"It doesn't feel like it," I say, my hands loosely resting on Zokie's head.

"You know," he says, cleaning the dirt from his tail, "Technically I'm not supposed to give you advice-"

"Give me advice," I interject. I need to hear what he has to say.

"Okay," he chuckles out, "Whenever you think you see something that isn't really there, close your eyes and think of something else. Don't react. Don't give it attention. Because if you do, then you let it get the best of you."

He doesn't know it, but that's better than anything I've heard from Dr. Gilbert.

"But how will I know it's not real?" I ask, "The only reason I react to it is because I think it's real."

He pauses before answering, "Well, try to think logically about it."

"Says the nurse to his crazy patient," I joke.

He laughs, "No, I mean, try to think, 'Is this something that could actually happen?'"

"It's a little hard to do when I'm already in the moment," I reply.

"Well," he says, "Distract yourself. Think of something that makes you happy. Like holding this puppy."

Now he's starting to sound like Dr. Gilbert.

I sigh, "It won't work."

"Take a chance Caroline," he challenges, "I _dare_ you."

The tone in his voice makes me want to prove him wrong. I suddenly feel a surge of strength from his words. I'm not giving up that easily.

"Challenge accepted," I tell him, and go back to scrubbing Zokie.

This has motivated me to want to get out of here even more. Zokie is my little piece of freedom. He makes me miss all the things I did before I checked-in to the ward. Maybe the thought of him _can_ help me overcome my hallucinations.

"Hey Caroline..." Klaus says.

"Yeah?" I respond, turning my head to him.

"What do you miss the most?" he asks, reading me like a book. I love that he already knows me so well.

"You mean, before I came here?" I verify.

He nods.

I give out a sigh, "Well.. I miss the beach. I wish I had the chance to go to a public school, attend regular classes, do some extracurricular activities."

"What would you have done?" He asks sincerely.

He's not taking notes this time, or asking technical questions about my body weight. He really wants to know more about me.

"I dunno," I say with a shrug, "The girly stuff like cheerleading and planning the school dances."

He chuckles.

"What?" I ask innocently.

"Nothing," he says, shaking his head, "You would get along with my sister, that's all."

My mouth drops, "There's _more_ of you?"

"Uh, yeah," he says, counting them off on his hand, "There's Elijah, me, Kol, and Rebekah."

"Tell me about them," I say.

"Well," he sighs, "Kol is a nuisance. And Rebekah is actually, very much like you. Except you're much sweeter."

He winks at me.

I smile, "Awww, thanks! And your parents?"

"My mum would do anything for our family, my dad..." he trails off, looking down at the pup.

The expression on his face changes. I can tell he's not happy about something.

"What?" I ask tenderly.

He hesitates and then looks at me, "The only father I have isn't really my father. I was the product of an illegitimate affair my mother had."

I take a moment to let this sink in, "So now things are awkward between you and him?"

He stifles a laugh, "More like he loathes my existence. To him I'm an abomination."

I shake my head, "Well, I'm sure he loves you, just in his own way."

"It's not that simple, Caroline," he says quietly.

"I'd like to think it is," I protest, "I don't even remember my dad... I have no idea what he was like. I remember my parents divorcing, and that he would drive me around to places... but that's it. Just little fragments of the memories. I don't remember his name, or what he looked like. I don't even remember if he loved me."

"How could anyone not love you?" He replies immediately.

I stare into his light blue eyes. We don't say anything. The feeling is back, this time pushing me to say something I shouldn't even be thinking.

"You're my best friend, Klaus," I tell him honestly, although that wasn't what I was thinking.

"Is that so?" he replies devilishly, a smirk creeping up onto his face, "Poor Elena, she's not going to happy with that news."

I cock my head to the side, "What are you talking about?"

"You just dropped her like that," he says, snapping his fingers, "Wait until I tell her, she's going to be so heartbroken."

"Shut up. You're not going to say anything!" I say splashing him with the water from the tub.

"Am I?" he teases, and scoops me up from underneath my legs.

I give out a shriek and watch Zokie jump out of the tub. Klaus is about to set me in to take his place, but I wrap my legs around his torso and pull onto the collar of his shirt, causing him to slip into the tub with me. The fall causes one of my hands to slide from his collar, down the center of his shirt, and a couple of his buttons pop off.

We're both soaked and laughing from our clumsiness.

"I'm sorry," I barely get out, "I think I just killed your frat boy shirt," I say, pulling my head up out of the water to observe the damage.

One of my arms is wrapped around him for support, the other is still clenching onto the inside of his shirt that now partly reveals his bare chest. My knuckles are grazing against his skin, and I suddenly stop laughing. I watch the rise and fall of his chest as his chuckles escape.

He's perfect.

**Klaus's POV:**

She's stopped laughing. I follow her gaze onto my shirt.

"It's okay, it's just a few buttons," I tell her.

She looks up at me. Her blue eyes reflecting back at mine.

I can't speak.

I can't move.

I'm frozen.

I watch her hair float carelessly in the water and bring my free hand up to wipe the loose strands from her face. The other one rests protectively behind her head.

She's about to say something when I hear my name being paged on the intercom.

I snap back to reality and push myself up, helping her out in the process.

"You're a mess," she says, handing me a towel, "Do you have a change of clothes?"

"Yeah, I've got some extra scrubs in my locker," I tell her, wiping down the wet parts of my body.

"How come your scrubs are prettier than mine?" she whines.

"Green scrubs?" I question, "I would have thought you'd be more of a 'pink' girl."

She gasps, "I love pink! Please get me some cute pink clothes! Anything to replace these boring white scrubs that seem to be the bane of my existence."

"We'll see," I chuckle, "Hold onto Zokie. I'll be right back."

"Okay," she says, grabbing onto him, "Take the towel with you."

"That was the plan," I joke, opening the door and closing it on her.

As I walk down the hallway to the reception desk, I can't help but feel giddy.

I've never felt so attached to any one person before. I could just let go, be myself, and she accepts it.

It's fantastic, but it's terrible. I need to be more careful.

I go into the employee room, and quickly change into my fresh, dry scrubs.

When I emerge back into the hallway, I see Elijah and Dr. Gilbert outside of the conference room I've been paged to. They beckon me to follow them inside.

What could this be about? There are no cameras in the bathrooms. I can't be in trouble.

As soon as I step in, we all take a seat.

"What can I do for you gentlemen?" I ask respectfully.

"Klaus," Elijah starts, "We wanted to run and idea by you, regarding Caroline."

Oh good, I'm not in trouble. I can relax now.

"How would you feel about taking graveyard shifts from now on?" Dr. Gilbert asks.

What the-

"Why?" I question.

"Well," Elijah starts, "We're trying to help Caroline. The last time she hallucinated, you helped her the most. But the most interesting fact about that night wasn't that you were able to calm her down afterwards, it was that she wasn't on her meds when you did it."

"If I recall correctly, she threw up her pills, yes?" Dr. Gilbert asks me.

"Yes," I reply, "But I still don't understand why you want me to work nights now?"

"To be with Caroline," Elijah says, "It would be good to have someone in the room with her for if she has another episode. Essentially to keep an eye out when we can't. The cameras are there, but we aren't. You're really good at helping her, and she trusts you."

That's why Elijah was okay with me not looking at her father's files, he _wants_ her to keep trusting me.

"And I'm curious to see how she does going off her meds," Dr. Gilbert says.

"Wait," I say, holding up my hand, "You're taking her _off_ her meds?"

"Dr. Gilbert and I both agree that this can be a healthy alternative for her, and we want to try it out," Elijah says calmly, "If it doesn't work out, we can always go back."

I'm the only one here that really understands her. How could I say no to helping her?

I completely agree with everything said, but I play along as if this is a huge sacrifice for me, "Under one condition..."

They both nod their heads. This is great, I have them eating out of my hands.

I tell them my terms. They need some convincing at first, but then eventually agree, and even support my idea.

After our meeting, I walk outside of the hospital and call Rebekah on my cell, "Hello baby sis, I need you to do a favor for me..."

**(A/N: Don't forget to leave your name in the reviews! I wrote this late at night when I was very drowsy, so I hope it was still up to par with the other chapters. If you have any questions regarding the fic, just direct them to my tumblr. My username on there is the same as this one.)**


	7. Shell Suite & Midnight City

**(A/N: Hey guys! Ugh, sorry it took me so long to update. I went on a family vacation last weekend and I'm still in the process of getting my normal routine back. I picked two songs for this chapter. They are "Shell Suite" by Chad Valley, and "Midnight City" by M83. Listen. Read. Review. Enjoy!)**

**Klaus's POV:**

The month leading up to Caroline's birthday went by smoothly. I spent every night with her in a soft chair by her bed. Sometimes I'd kick my feet up on her mattress and doze off with her. Other nights we would stay up late, talking and laughing. We had to keep it quiet though, I had to be a good influence after all. My job now was to take notes and document everything that goes on in the night.

Since she's stopped taking her medication, her main issues have been incoherent speech, memory recollection, insomnia, and distracted attention. This happens only occasionally, and is easily manageable. The real miracle is that she hasn't hallucinated once since the start of the new routine.

She has, literally, been curing herself.

This is good because I can't stand the thought of her in pain. I only want to make her happy and well.

Which is one of the reasons why I decided to keep Zokie. Kol didn't mind when I first brought him in to the apartment. In fact, he's actually grown quite fond of the little guy. He takes care of him while I'm out.

I gave Caroline a picture of Zokie which she has now hung up in her room. It keeps her spirits high when she feels a lack of faith in herself. She struggles with that every once in a while.

But today is her birthday, and I have _big_ plans for her. She has no idea just how happy she's about to be. I'm surprised I've able to hold in the secret for so long. I have been _itching_ to tell her!

I wait in the hospital parking lot for Rebekah. She's late. As usual.

I check the time again and groan. I'm about to pull out my cell phone and call her just as the white Volkswagen Beetle finally pulls into the lot.

She's got the top down with some girly pop song blaring through the speakers. I walk over to the drivers side as she parks in the space next to me and turns off the car.

I open her door, "What took you so long?"

"I was at school," she says, stepping out of the beetle, "I had to sneak out during first period, it wasn't easy."

"Can I have my credit card back now?" I demand, following her to the back of the car.

Before she lifts the door to the trunk, she turns to face me, "Just... don't freak out, okay?"

My eyes go wide with horror at the tone in her voice. This. Is. Not. Good.

She pops open the trunk and I gasp, "Rebekah, what did you do?!"

There are bags upon bags filling the entire area of her trunk space.

"What?" She asks innocently, "You said she likes pink."

I rub my face, "No, I said to get her beach clothes, not to buy the whole store!"

"You can still return them!" She exclaims, now digging through her purse, "I just wanted to make sure she had options. The girl hasn't had a decent outfit in 8 years..."

"Give me back my card," I say, holding out my hand and avoiding eye contact. Of course, I should have known better then to give my teenage little sister full access to my bank account.

"Fine, be an ass," she says, handing me my card, "I was only trying to help your little friend. Have you told her yet?"

"No," I reply, "I want to give her the clothes first and then surprise her."

She sighs, "Alright then, I guess you and I are choosing what she's going to wear."

She pulls out a gift bag followed by a white cotton sundress.

"No," I tell her, pushing it back, "I told you, no white. Caroline's sick of that color."

"Relax brother," she says, pulling out a couple more pieces of clothing, "I have backups."

"Yes, I can see that," I scoff.

She rolls her eyes and then holds up a light pink bathing suit. It's a halter that scrunches near the chest area. There are no patterns or designs.

"Why is it a one-piece?" I ask, taking it in my hands.

"Don't be a pervert," she scolds, "Your girl hasn't so much as shown her bare ankles since she was a child, do you really think she's going to be comfortable in a bikini?"

I nod my head, "You're right, okay, what else have you got?"

She holds out another cotton sundress like the white one, only this dress is red. It has flower patterns cut into the fabric, and two pockets down in the front.

"Fantastic," I say, grabbing the items and putting them into the bag.

I complete the rest of the outfit by grabbing some pink-rimmed sunglasses and pink sandals. The other necessities, I have already packed in the car, (sunscreen, towels, etc.).

I stuff the gift bag with some tissue paper and then tell Rebekah to leave the rest of the items at Kol and I's apartment, (I don't trust her holding onto them and I'm certainly not dumb enough to give her back my card to return them). I'll deal with sending them back later.

Just as I'm about to head inside the hospital, she stops me, "Hey, I just wanted to say that this is a really sweet thing you're doing. I hope it works out alright."

I give her a genuine smile, "Me too."

And with that, we go our separate ways.

I walk into the hospital and meet with Elijah for a moment to briefly discuss the situation for today.

I am to have Caroline back by 7pm, _no later_. I need to take notes of her behavior as well as her reactions to the events throughout the day. She has a medical bracelet that she needs to wear at all times, Although I'm getting paid for this, I still need to work overtime and stay with her at night. After that, I can have the following day off to recuperate. Which is kind of sad because I only have two days left until my internship is over and then I go back to school with Kol for the Fall semester. Not quite sure how I'm going to say goodbye. I've put off thinking about it for as long as I can. I think Caroline is doing the same.

Of course, above all my duties for today, I need to keep her safe. Which I would already do, regardless of any situation we're in.

After our talk, I take the elevator up to the adult ward where Caroline's new home is. I approach her room and see that she's still unpacking some of her things.

Her back is turned as I give a couple of knocks on the open door, "Hey there birthday girl."

She whips around as I enter the room.

"Hi, Klaus!" she greets, and then slowly raises an eyebrow, "Why are you wearing that?"

I look down at my attire consisting of a white v-neck t-shirt and swim shorts. My trunks are white with the word '_Billabong' _in light blue going down the right thigh.

"You'll know soon enough," I say, holding out her present.

She flashes a wide grin and takes it, sitting herself down on the bed. She pulls out the tissue paper followed by the items in the bag, setting them down next to her, one-by-one.

It doesn't click for her until she pulls out the bathing suit and puts two-and-two together. She darts her head up and stares at me with wide eyes that beg for validation.

"Go get ready," I tell her with a smile, "We're leaving now."

She lets out a loud shriek and then stands on top of her bed, jumping up and down.

"Don't waste time," I tell her with a giggle, "We need to leave now if we don't want to hit traffic."

She pounces onto me, gripping my neck tight to her and wrapping her legs around my waist.

"Thank you _so_ much, Klaus," she says into my ear.

I hold her there for a moment and embrace the feeling of having her against my chest, then I set her down and grab her things off the bed.

"Hurry up and get changed," I say, handing her the clothes, "I'll wait outside."

She giggles with excitement as she takes the items and runs into the bathroom. Within a few minutes, she's ready to go. She steps out of the room and twirls in front of me, showing off her new outfit. It takes everything I have in me to not pull her back into my arms and hold her there.

Before we walk out of the building, we make a quick stop at the front desk where I put the hospital wristband on her. When I fasten it around her wrist, she's still smiling as if _nothing_ could possibly ruin this day.

I open the car door for her as she gets into the passenger seat. Even just being able to sit in a _car_ has her bouncing up and down with joy.

I put myself behind the wheel and turn the key in the ignition.

The beach is about an hour and a half drive, so I brought my ipod for a little entertainment on the way. Caroline hasn't heard all the great music that's been released over the years, so I figured I could use this time to help her catch up.

I press the shuffle button on my ipod and- what in the crap?

This is not my music.

I look onto the screen to check the song.

'_What Makes You Beautiful_' by One Direction.

"Ooh," Caroline says, "I like this, who is it?"

"No," I tell her, skipping to the next song, "We're not listening to this."

Now it's the same girly pop song Rebekah was listening to in the car earlier.

'_Call Me Maybe_' by Carly Rae Jepson.

"Hey!" She exclaims, "This one is good too!"

"Absolutely not," I tell her, pressing the 'skip' button again. None of my music is on here, what happened to my ipod?

'_4-ever_' by The Veronicas.

Skip.

'_Boyfriend_' by Justin Bieber.

Skip.

'_Party in the U.S.A._' by Miley Cyrus.

Pause.

Kol. Looks like he finally got his payback from when I messed with him that one morning. Well played, brother.

"Oh c'mon, those were all great songs!" She exclaims, trying to snatch the ipod from me.

"Look," I tell her, "I'll let you listen today for obvious reasons, but just know that I would not allow this garbage to infiltrate my car otherwise."

"Yay!" she says, clapping her hands together in excitement.

I skip to the next song and pray that it's one I could possibly sit through.

'_Crush_' by David Archuleta. I can manage this one.

Halfway through the trip, Caroline is taking control of the ipod, flipping through songs and playing her favorite ones. She moves around in her seat, dancing to the rhythm of the music.

"Hey Klaus, can you sing?" she asks me suddenly.

"No," I laugh, "I definitely cannot."

Just then, '_Glad You Came_' by The Wanted comes on.

She gasps, "These guys sound british! Can I hear you sing this one, _please_?"

"No, I don't even know the lyrics," I lie. Rebekah has made me sit through it multiple times. They're one of her favorite groups. Thanks to her, the lyrics are permanently etched into my memory.

"Oh please, I can tell when you're not telling the truth, Klaus," she scolds, "C'mon, I _need_ to hear your beautiful accent sing along with-"

I interject by fulfilling her wishes, "_Turn the lights down now. Now I take you by the hand. Hand you another drink. Drink it if you can. Can you spend a little time? Time is slippin' away. Away from us so stay. Stay with me I can make, make you glad you came._"

She's hysterical now. I've never seen her laugh this hard.

"This is the best day of my life!" She barely gets out.

"Yeah, hold onto that memory because you're never going to hear me do that again," I say, joining in on the laughter.

"What's that? You want to hear it again?" She teases, looking down at the ipod.

"NO," I state firmly, taking a quick glance at her.

"Okay, here we go!" She says, pressing the 'back' button and replaying the song.

I roll my eyes, "Oh, c'mon."

"Well then, why do you have it on your ipod if you don't want to listen to it?" She questions.

"It's a long story," I say, shaking my head.

"Tell me," she says sincerely.

I don't know what it is, but I find it so easy to open myself up to her.

We spend the rest of the trip listening to the 'Newsies' and 'High School Musical' soundtracks while I tell her about my situation with Kol, and other stories about my family. We talk mainly about the relationship between my Dad and I and how that's going stagnant.

She doesn't judge, she just listens.

Just as we're approaching the coast, I roll down the windows and let her get a smell of the fresh, salt-water air.

I park in a spot on the side of road and take our things out as we prepare to walk toward the beach together. It isn't far away, but as soon as Caroline's feet hit the sand, she stops moving. I watch as she kneels down, and takes a scoop of it in her hands.

I don't say anything. I drop our things and slowly kneel down beside her, putting my hands in the sand with hers. Our palms meet and we hold onto each other, feeling the warm, tiny pebbles move between our fingers. She opens one of my hands and takes it in hers. I watch her intricate movements and focus on the feeling of her skin on mine.

I relax the back of my hand flat on my thigh, letting her fingers trace the inside of my palm. Her touch feels so good. I relax and close my eyes as she moves up my forearm, lightly stroking back and forth. Why am I letting her do this?

Why does this have to feel so good?

I open my eyes and watch her looking out at the ocean. Water quickly builds in her eyes and she starts to sob.

I pull her into my arms and rub soft, soothing circles on her back.

"Shh, it's okay," I reassure her.

She wraps her arms around my neck and pulls me in tighter. I lift her up and sit her onto my lap, embracing her body completely.

"Thank you _so_ much," she whispers in my ear.

I smile at her words, "Happy Birthday Caroline."

**Caroline's POV:**

I've never felt so happy in my entire life. Everything is perfect.

I love being here with my pink suit and red dress, which Rebekah had apparently picked out. I'll have to thank her if I ever meet her.

I'm scared to death of getting burned, so as soon as Klaus and I pick a spot, we lay out our towels and I lather on some sunscreen while he documents about me in his notebook.

I can't reach my back though, so I ask him to help out.

I turn around and he blends in the lotion carefully, covering the entire exposed area of my back. His hand lingers over the scar on my left shoulder, his thumb outlining where the skin tore. I remember when he took out my stitches; It didn't hurt, it tickled more than anything.

He's so gentle with me.

"You want me to get yours?" I ask, craning my neck towards him.

He doesn't respond. I turn to face him. It looks like he had just snapped himself out of a daze.

"Yeah," he answers, pulling off his shirt.

Oh, wow. _No one_ should be that beautiful. I try hard to not stare at his obviously perfect chest.

Not going so well.

He turns right around though. I don't think he noticed my drooling.

I put the sunscreen on him quickly, trying to distract myself from his gorgeous features.

Ugh, this is _wrong_. What's the _point_?

He's leaving in two days, and even if he was staying it would be hopeless. _There is no future for us_.

I try not to let myself get too worked up over this thought, and instead, just enjoy the rest of my birthday. I'll deal with my feelings later.

We spent the afternoon lying in the sun, building sand castles, and chasing the waves together. At one point, Klaus even threw me into one of the waves. I made him come and save me, of course. As for the sand castles, I mainly built them while he sketched a picture of me in his notebook. I had no idea he was such an artist! We held hands when we laid in the sun, and I actually napped. I think he did too, even though he didn't want to. He's just protective is all.

For lunch we ate at the pier, and I got to have my first corn dog in who knows how long.

The last of our afternoon was spent gathering seashells to take back with me to the hospital. I stuffed them all into Klaus's backpack, which he didn't mind. I think he wants me to have as many tokens from this memory as possible.

We ate dinner at a nice Mexican restaurant at the end of the pier. I tried to scarf down as much food as I could because I knew it would be the last good meal I'd get to have before going back to the hospital. That probably wasn't a good idea because now my stomach hurts. But after walking a couple times around the pier, I start to feel better.

"What time is it?" I ask him as we loop around again.

"It's five o'clock," he says, looking at his cell phone, "We're going to have to leave here soon."

I sigh, "I know."

To our left, there is a stage set up with a band that had been playing fast music all night. They finish up one of their songs and then clear out for a man that comes up with an acoustic guitar. He starts playing a slow song.

Klaus stops walking and turns to me.

"You know, you did say you wanted to be in charge of school dances," he says, his expression unreadable, "Would you like to dance?"

I smile at him, "I'd love to."

He takes my hand in his and leads us to the center of the dance floor, surrounded by several romanticizing couples.

It's pure torture, but I decide to give up and just let myself feel whatever I want. It's _my_ birthday and I'm allowed to be happy.

I listen to the man on stage as he starts to sing...

_Give me love like her,_

_'cause lately I've been waking up alone._

Klaus takes me by the waist and pulls me in close to him, holding my right hand and leading the dance. My heart flutters and I start to blush.

He leans into my ear, "Are you happy, Caroline?"

I smile and press my head against his chest.

"Incredibly," I respond truthfully.

Ugh, Does this day really have to end?

_No I just wanna hold ya,_

_Give a little time to me, we'll burn this out._

One of my hands loosely plays with the curls on the back of his head, I can hear his heartbeat start to pick up its pace.

_We'll play hide and seek, to turn this around._

_All I want is the taste that your lips allow._

_My my, my my,_

_Give me love._

"Don't ever forget this," he whispers.

"I won't," I promise.

My conscience is nudging me to not do it, but I can't help it anymore. I tried not to slip, but I've fallen so hard. I'm in love with him.

The music stops and the people around us start clapping for the performer. Klaus slowly, but gently, pulls away from me.

He looks down into my eyes, "It's time to go."

I nod my head as he takes me by the hand and leads us away from the dance floor.

"I'm going to use the restroom," I say, breaking away from him.

**Klaus's POV:**

I watch her walk into the bathroom as I wait for her against the edge of the pier, overlooking the water.

What am I getting myself into? I can't even think straight right now. Why does she have to be so wonderful and make me feel like I'm not alone?

I let out a deep breath and rub my face in my hands. When I look back up, something catches my eye to the left. A little girl, maybe five-years-old, is staring at me from one of the gift shops a few feet away. Her parents are browsing at the key-chains, not paying any attention to her.

She waves to me.

I wave back.

She's wearing many bracelets and necklaces, that compliment her purple sparkling bikini and green skirt.

She walks up to me, "Hello! I'm Clara."

I nod, "Clara the mermaid, I see."

Her mouth drops, "I'm not a mermaid, I'm a princess!"

"Oh, excuse me," I say politely, "Clara the princess."

"I'm also magical," she says, raising her chin with pride.

"Oh are you?" I ask, playing along, "Can you grant me a wish, dear princess?"

"For you honey, sure," she replies smoothly, "What do you want?"

I laugh at her language, she's too cute!

I surprise myself by answering her truthfully, "I just don't want to be alone."

She thinks for a moment.

"I know!" She exclaims, "What you need is a _girlfriend_!"

I laugh, "That's a great idea! Can you make her appear out of that bathroom over there?"

I point to the same one Caroline went into.

"I don't know," she replies doubtfully, "That's going to take a lot of magic now..."

"Oh please try!" I beg her, getting on my knees.

She smiles down at me and giggles, "Alright, alright! What do you want her to look like?"

"_Beautiful_," I say, "Blonde hair, blue eyes, perfect skin-"

"That's _enough_, boy!" She teases playfully, "You're going to make me run out of magic!"

I put up my hands and back away. Clara extends her fingers out in front of her and wiggles them in the direction of the bathroom. It takes five seconds for Caroline to walk out, and then two seconds for Clara to jump up and down screaming.

"Oh, you did it! She's _perfect_! Thank you princess Clara!" I say, shaking her hand. I notice she's wearing a beautifully incrusted bracelet on the hand I am shaking.

"Here! Give this to her!" she says, taking off the bracelet and holding it out to me.

"What? No," I say pushing it back to her, "You already gave me _her_, I don't need this. You keep it."

Just then I hear her parents calling her name. She whips her neck around quickly and then faces back to me.

"I have magic now! I don't need this," she says, and then looks up from behind me and gasps.

"Here, she's coming," she says, forcing the bracelet into my hands, "Just give it to her! It will make her fall in love with you!"

She runs off.

"Clara!" I call out at the same time as her parents. Her little body has disappeared into the sea of people. I look down, observing the bracelet in my hands.

Oh no. This is real.

I look up and try to find her again. No luck.

"Hey, I was looking for you," I hear Caroline say from behind. I slip the bracelet into my pocket and whip myself around.

"Sorry," I say, "You ready to go?"

"No," she says, looking down and kicking her feet across the floor, "But I'm gonna have to be."

"Right," I say with a sympathetic smile, "Let's get going then."

I see her body shivering slightly.

"Are you cold?" I ask her. She nods her head.

I take my college sweatshirt out of my backpack and help pull it over her head. She looks good, I like seeing her wear my clothes.

"Thanks," she says, bunching her hands inside the sleeves.

Still no sight of Clara as we make our way back to the car.

I take a seep sigh. She's long gone now, I might as well respect her wishes.

When we reach where we've parked, I open Caroline's door first and then take the bracelet out of my pocket. She sits down in her seat and looks up at me curiously, waiting for me to close her door.

I smile and hold the bracelet out to her, "Happy birthday."

She takes it in her hands.

"What? _More_ presents?" she asks, astonished, "Oh, wow! This is beautiful! Where did you get this?"

I help her clasp it around the wrist that doesn't have the hospital bracelet.

"Well, that's a long story," I reply, "But rest assured it was worn by a princess almost as beautiful as you."

She laughs, "Real _smooth_, Mikaelson!"

"It's the truth!" I exclaim, cheerfully.

"Well, I love it," she says, watching it gleam around her wrist, "Thank you."

She looks up at me.

I hold her stare for a moment, knowing that this will probably be the last chance I have to look at her freely, and not feel guilty.

"Your welcome," I tell her, and close the passenger door.

**(A/N: Congrats to Clara for winning the spot in the story! AND THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO HAS BEEN Favoriting/Following/Reviewing. It really means so much to me. In case if you were wondering, the song that they dance to is "Give Me Love" by Ed Sheeran. Please don't forget to leave your reviews on this chapter! Each one I get definitely helps motivate me to update faster... :-D)**


	8. Shadow of the Day

**(A/N: Thanks so much for all the support guys! I'm still trying to catch up with my normal schedule, so keep bearing with me. Here's the next chapter, the title/song is "Shadow of the Day" by Linkin Park. Beautiful song. Listen. Read. Review. Enjoy!)**

**Caroline's POV:**

We're halfway back to the hospital now.

His sweatshirt is so warm and comfortable, and it smells so strongly of _him_. Like sweet honey and firewood. I can feel him all around me.

I retract my chair and lay down on my side, facing Klaus. I pull his sweatshirt over my nose and take another small whiff. I close my eyes and imagine it's really him holding me.

When I open them again, I catch him slipping a quick glance at me. A smile creeps onto his face.

"What?" I ask.

He shakes his head, "Nothing."

I know he's not telling the truth, but I let it go. I'm tired, and I'm sure he'll let me know what he was really thinking when the time is right. For now, I like wondering.

As I watch the sunset outside the window, I slowly start to doze off.

I don't know how long I'm out for, but I immediately jolt upwards when I hear a sudden click of my door opening.

It's Klaus.

I observe my surroundings and see that we've pulled into a gas station, the car is in the process of refueling.

"Holy crap, you scared me," I say, letting out an exasperated breath.

I turn in my seat to face him, he's laughing.

"You nearly jumped out of your seat," he chuckles, resting his hands on the top of the car.

"It's not funny, Klaus!" I say, hitting his stomach.

He grabs my hands to stop the impact and pulls me into him, our cheeks brushing past each other.

My heart starts to beat wildly and I feel myself becoming short of breath.

This is the closest I've ever been to him.

His cheek is resting against mine when he slowly turns to face me. I feel the scratch of his stubble as he makes the shift, until a smooth set of lips meet my skin. He gently presses them against my left cheek, and my heart starts beating even faster.

I should not be this close to him.

This is wrong.

This is wrong.

This is _wrong_.

He slowly moves to my other side, planting a kiss there as well.

It isn't fair.

I want him.

I _need_ him.

He gently tilts my face upwards to meet his eyes, and I close mine as he starts to lean in.

I wake up.

I'm still laying down in the car seat, the car isn't moving. I let out a soft whimper. What a cruel dream.

I try to force myself back to sleep to pick up where the dream left off, but I feel myself being pulled out of my seat and into a pair of arms.

I'm barely able to squint my eyes open and look up at my carrier, it's Klaus.

I rest my head against his chest and give out a quiet groan.

"It's alright, go back to sleep," he whispers softly, "I've got you."

I easily to give into his words, and melt into his safe arms. Falling asleep has never felt this good.

**Klaus's POV:**

I place her down on the bed and tuck her in safely under the covers. She's completely passed out, exhausted from the big day.

I walk back out of the hospital and drive home to prepare myself for the night shift. Kol's not there, probably out with Damon again. Which means I get to enjoy the rest of my evening without the annoying ambiance of video games and cheap beer.

After I've showered, changed into some fresh scrubs, and gotten something to eat, I make my way back to the hospital.

Caroline is still sleeping when I enter the room. But her hair is wet, and she's back in her white scrubs. She must have also gotten ready for bed while I was out.

I find her beach clothes and my sweatshirt folded nicely in my usual sitting post by her bed. There's a note on top, and I unfold it to read what it says:

_Please save these for when I get out of here._

_I want to wear them again one day._

_Thank you for everything._

I fold the note back up and put it in my pocket, my lips curl into a smile.

I place the clothes on her desk and take my seat by her bed. Surprisingly, I'm not very tired, so I decide to recap a little more on today's events in my notebook. I purposefully leave out the more... intimate parts. Elijah and John don't need to know every detail, and I don't need to feel like a foolish schoolboy writing in his journal.

I replay the memories over and over again until, I too, start to fall asleep.

I'm out for what seems like just a couple of hours, when I hear Caroline tossing and turning in her bed.

I open my eyes and turn to face her, although I can't see much in the dark.

"Klaus," she whimpers, kicking off her sheets.

"Hey, I'm here," I say, grabbing her hand.

"Klaus," she cries again. Her palm feels warm and sweaty, it starts to slip through my fingers.

"What is it? What's wrong?" I ask, leaning into her.

She says my name one more time, then abruptly jumps out of the bed, running into the bathroom.

Oh please, not again. Not on her birthday.

I follow in after her. She's vomiting in the toilet.

I take a sigh of relief and walk over to her, "I thought you might have been hallucinating again."

"No," she says, and lets out another hurl, "Just throwing up my guts."

I smile, it's good to see she can still have a sense of humor through this.

I stand behind her and hold her hair back as she finishes. Then I grab a cup from the sink and fill it with water.

"Thank you," she says as I hand it to her. She gargles some of it and spits it out in the toilet, holding onto the side of the bowl for support. Her body seems weak, and she's much paler than usual.

"...brush my teeth," she mutters out.

"Is that a request or a command?" I joke, grabbing her toothbrush and toothpaste from the sink.

She tries to scrub the brush in her mouth, but it keeps slipping out of her hand.

"...help?" She asks in a groggy voice.

I chuckle and take the toothbrush from her, "You're lucky I would do anything for you."

After I help brush her teeth, I set her things back on the sink and wash my hands. I'm about to turn back around when I hear her body thud to the floor.

I whip behind me and see her sprawled across the ground by the towel rack.

"Whoa! Are you okay?" I ask, rushing to her aid and picking her up in my arms.

"...I fell," she mutters.

"Yeah, I can see that," I chuckle out, "Don't try to get up, your body is too weak."

"Too much... good food," she says, burying her head in my chest.

I pull her into my lap, "Yeah I guess your body just isn't used to it."

She wraps her arms around my neck and rests her head on my shoulder. I rub her back in soothing circles, trying to keep her from getting nauseous again.

"I can't find... the other half... of the fish," she mutters out.

"What?" I ask, perplexed.

"Jepsom retail... doesn't Alice in Wonderland..." she says quietly.

Incoherent speech. She's experiencing one of her side effects.

"Go back to sleep Dimps," I tell her, continuing to rub her back, "You'll feel better in the morning."

She doesn't respond, she just complies.

Her messy curls are in my face, but I don't want to push them away. Everything about her is intoxicating. Her beauty. Her voice. Right now, I'm getting completely drunk off her smell and touch.

The cameras are outside, someone is going to notice how long we've been in here.

"_Five minutes_," I think to myself, "_I'll allow myself five minutes_."

I play with her blonde curls and cradle her in my arms. She pulls herself closer into my body, and I plant a soft kiss on the back of her head. I don't even think about it, I just do it. Like it's a natural thing.

"Caroline, are you still awake?" I ask quietly.

She doesn't respond. She's purring like a kitten, fast asleep.

"I wish I was brave enough to tell you this when you're awake," I whisper into her hair, "I love you, and I truly _would_ do anything for you."

I said it out loud, but only silence hears my confession.

She lays quiet and motionless, resting against my chest. I rock her back and forth in my arms, swaying from side to side, until my five minutes are up. Then I carry her back to the bed, and tuck her in for the last time tonight.

"Sweet dreams, Caroline."

…...

I'm back in Elijah's office after my day off to recover. I'm still a mess though. I need to figure out how I'm going to say goodbye to Caroline because I've run out of time. Today's my last day.

"Nice work," Elijah says, after reviewing my notebook, "It got a little 'Nicholas Sparks' for me at one point, but, very well done."

"What's that supposed to mean?" I ask, trying to hide my nerves.

"I know you're a great artist, Klaus, but... really?" He says, holding up the sketch I made of Caroline.

Probably should have taken that out.

"I just thought you and Dr. Gilbert would have liked to see her making progress," I try to explain.

"Making progress? Looks to me like she's making a sand castle," he chuckles out, "Look, it doesn't matter. You've really done great. She's completely changing for the better."

"Good, I hope so," I reply sincerely.

"Erm, by the way..." he says awkwardly, "The Chief wants to see you..."

My mouth falls slightly open. By 'Chief' he means 'Chief Medical Officer'.

When the person in charge wants to see you, it's usually a big deal. And that big deal is either a really good thing or a really bad thing. This time, I've got a feeling in my gut that it's a bad thing.

"No," I state, "I'm not seeing him. Elijah, I've-"

"You have to," he interjects, "It's your last day and... he needs to speak with you. Conference room two."

His words are absolute. I guess there's no avoiding this. I take a deep breath and nod my head.

"Very well then," I say, getting up and walking out of the room.

My heart pounds with every footstep. The very last thing I wanted to do today was meet with the CMO. I've been purposefully trying to avoid the man my entire time here. What does he _want_ from me?

I press down on the door handle and enter the room. He's there waiting for me.

"Hello Niklaus," he greets with a twisted smile.

I shut the door behind me, "Hello, Father."

**(A/N: Busted! DUN DUN DUUUUUN! What does this mean for Klaus? Hmm... I guess we will see in the next chapter. In the meantime I want to hear your theories! Leave me a review and tell me what you think of the chapter! If you have any questions, just direct them to my tumblr. My username on there is the same as this one.)**


	9. Lying From You & Stolen

**(A/N: Here it is guys! I picked two songs again for this chapter. They are "Lying From You" by Linkin Park, and "Stolen" by Dashboard Confessional. Two very different songs, for the first and last part of the chapter. Listen. Read. Review. Enjoy!)**

**Klaus's POV:**

"Please, have a seat," he says, gesturing to the empty chair across from him. I do as he says and fold my hands on the table in front of me.

I don't speak. I wait for him to initiate the topic of discussion.

He looks over a file in his hands, and then places it on the table between us. Setting his glasses beside it, he leans back in his chair and focuses his attention on me. His eyes are judging, malicious; like he's trying to burn holes into my skin.

"Have you enjoyed working here, Klaus?" he asks, finally breaking the silence.

"Of course," I respond politely, trying my best to keep my composure. This isn't going to be easy.

"Good," he responds simply, "Because we'd like to have you back."

My eyebrows knit together in confusion, "What?"

"When you're done with your Fall semester at school," he continues, "We would like you to come back during the Winter. Can you?"

There's an ulterior motive suggested in his tone. I don't like the sound of it. He's being too nice to me. Why?

"Where are you getting at?" I ask him suspiciously.

His expression changes to disgust, resentment. The exact thing I was expecting when I walked in.

"You're very close to Caroline," he says, changing the subject. It's not a comment, it's an accusation.

"And _you're_ very close to me walking out of here, so spit it out," I retort back, "Tell me what you really wanted to say. Why am I here?"

"Let's get one thing clear," he starts out, "You're not the only that's been trying to avoid this meeting. You think that I _want_ to be sitting here with you? Pretend to have friendly chit chat? Of course not. Don't be ridiculous. But I need to be professional and look out for my patients. Especially when one of them has taken a particularly keen interest in one of my staff."

I pause for a moment to take this in, "Wait, what?"

He shoves the file in my direction.

"Dr. Gilbert gives Caroline hypnotherapy every week," he states as I hesitantly open the folder, "For the past three weeks, this is what has happened."

I read over what John has scribbled down. My eyes mainly catch the words 'secretive' and 'infatuated'. My name frequently pops up.

In another section, I read the direct quotes taken from her while she was unconscious: 'He understands me', 'I don't feel alone when I'm with him', and 'I can't help how I feel'.

She's talking about me.

He speaks up, "It's built into her psyche to go to you for comfort, and you _encourage_ it."

I look up at him, "It's my job."

"It's _unhealthy_," he retorts, "Medication will always be there for her when she needs it. _You_ won't be. I don't want her relying on you anymore. So when you come back, I'm reassigning you to another patient. One that you won't need to hold hands with every five seconds."

I scoff, "I'm sorry, does it bother you that I hold my patient's hand to try and comfort her?"

"It's not the 'hand-holding' that bothers me. It's the _way_ you do it."

I roll my eyes.

"What are you talking about?" I ask irritably, my impatience steadily growing.

"Caressing her back, stroking her thumb... where are _you _getting at?"

I try to conjure up an answer, but I'm speechless. I have no rebuttal.

I decide to change the subject, "I don't understand. If you hate me so much, then why invite me back?"

An evil smile spreads across his face, "You're so angry, so childish. For years I've watched you trying to prove me wrong. You think you can make a difference in the world, but you're _nothing_. You're _worthless_. I can have you easily replaced by any other-"

"Get to the point," I interject.

"My point is," he replies sinisterly, "All good things come to those who wait, and I'm waiting to watch you _fail_."

He's setting me up. He wants me to come back just so he can kick dirt in my face.

My face becomes sullen, "You waste so much energy on hating me, just because I'm not fully yours. Why can't we move on from this?"

I'm tired. I don't even care if he's in my life or not, I just want to be done with this.

He leans in across the table, "I'll move on when you stop trying to be part of a family that isn't _yours_."

I just sit there, completely dumbfounded. His hatred for me is worse than I thought.

"Now get out of here," he says, taking back the file, "Just the sight of you is making me nauseous."

I get up from my seat and storm out of the room without saying another word.

I make my way to the employee room to cool off. Ignoring everyone else around me, I head straight into the kitchen and kick over one of the chairs.

Stefan jerks around from stirring his coffee and acknowledges me.

"Um... lost a patient?" He jokes.

Good one, mate. Right on the nose.

"Just had a friendly encounter with my Dad," I say, rubbing a hand over my face.

"Oooh," he teases, "Had a meeting with the _Chief_! What did you do?"

I pick up the chair I kicked over and drag it to a small table.

"Nothing, let's change the subject," I tell him, parking the chair by the table and sitting in it, "You figured out what you're going to do for a job yet?"

It's Stefan's last day here as well. All the interns are freaking out about whether or not they'll be asked to stay.

"I had my exit interview earlier this morning," he says, looking down at his coffee with a sullen expression.

"I'm sorry mate, did they not invite you back?"

He looks up at me with a mischievous grin.

"Naw, I'm just messing with you man," he says, slapping me on the shoulder, "They want me to stay!"

"_Stay?_" I ask, raising my eyebrows, "Like, for good?"

"Yep!" He states proudly, "Gonna work part time while earning my PHD."

"Well that's great, man," I say sincerely, "Good for you."

"Thank you," he says, and takes a sip of his coffee, "I'm just lucky it wasn't Mikael interviewing me. I would have been sweating like a pig, and making myself look like a total fool."

"Yes, you are lucky," I restate. Although, I think Stefan could have done a strip tease on the table while singing 'Peanut Butter Jelly Time', and Dad would still prefer him over me.

"What about you?" He asks, "You sticking here with me?"

"No," I tell him, "I'll be back in the Winter though."

"Well that's good," he says optimistically, "Then I'll see you in the Winter, _buddy_."

His sarcastic emphasis on the word 'buddy' makes me chuckle in my throat. There's one way to say goodbye lightly, not making a big deal out of it. Now how am I going to do that with Caroline?

Meredith joins us in the kitchen. She's giddy and overexcited about something.

"They want me to come back in the Winter!" she bursts out.

"Congratulations," I say, getting up from my seat and walking to the counter. There's a platter of cookies there and I help myself to a couple.

"That's great!" Stefan chimes in, absolutely beaming.

"I know!" she continues, "I didn't really think they would let me, but they did!"

Stefan turns his body towards her, "You must be very special."

I slap my palm to my face. Poor guy. He really needs to get laid.

"All right," I say, grabbing a napkin and another cookie, "I'm almost off the clock, and I need to go find Caroline."

"You _still_ haven't said goodbye?" Stefan scolds.

"Cutting it a little short there, aren't you, Klaus?" Meredith adds in.

I wrap the cookie up in the napkin and walk past the table, ignoring their sarcastic questions.

"Take it easy," I say, quickly patting Stefan on the back and exiting the room. I figured I'd give the two their privacy, that way Stefan can finally make a move already. I really do need to find Caroline though.

**Caroline's POV:**

I've confided in Elena with telling her my deepest, darkest secret about Klaus. She now knows about _everything_: Zokie and the bathtub, my birthday at the beach, and just now I've gotten her caught up on the night in the bathroom.

"I _swear_," I tell her, "I think he kissed my head that night."

A silent laugh escapes from her. One of the best things about having a friend who can't talk, is knowing that she'll always be able to keep your secrets.

We do have our way of communicating though. She has a small whiteboard she carries around, allowing her to make her thoughts known with the help of a simple dry-erase marker.

We're lying down on the grass outside, where the hospital has fenced off a couple of acres for us patients to run around and do as we please.

Elena holds up her white board and writes something down... _But he's your nurse!_

I roll my eyes, "For the thousandth time, Elena, _I know_. I realize I'm pathetic. Ugh, and today is his last day! What is _wrong_ with me?"

She wipes her slab clean and writes something else... _What if he comes back for you?_

"He won't," I respond, "He'll be in school. Besides, it's not like he feels that way about me. He's gotta keep his distance, ya know? You're lucky, at least you _know_ Matt loves you."

_Matt needs to move on. I'm not good enough fo-_

"Oh shut up," I joke, erasing her slab before she's even finished writing, "You know you're in love with him, and it's not like he's just going to give up on you. You _know_ that."

_Then maybe I need to move on._

"No, you need to get better," I tell her, "So we can both get out of here and start living normal lives again."

_Do you really think we'll be able to do that? Be normal again?_

"Maybe," I sigh, "If we want it bad enough."

She jolts upward and starts writing again, a big cheesy grin flashes across her face.

"What?" I ask, sitting up with her and looking down at what she's writing.

_You want Klaus 'bad enough', that's why!_

"Hey, I thought you didn't approve of this? Besides, Klaus just doesn't want to see me trapped here forever. He knows I'm meant for so much more."

_It is kinda cute though. He wants to take you away from here!_

"Not exactly," I chuckle out, "He's just doing his job."

She sets down her whiteboard and gives a sarcastic look that reads, 'Are you serious?'

I give a frustrated groan.

"I don't know," I say, lying back down on the grass. I decide to change the subject, "Did I tell you that Dr. Gilbert found out more about my Dad?"

She shakes her head.

"Yeah, he says that he can tell me more about him if I want... but it might disrupt the progress I've made."

_Why?_

"Apparently one of my memories with him may have triggered my Delirium. I don't know what it was though... I told him not to tell me."

I hesitantly glance over at her. She has a confused look on her face.

"Look," I try to explain, "If it's what caused me to end up in here, then maybe it's a good thing that I don't remember... even if it is my Dad."

She gives me a sympathetic smile, I know she understands.

Our attention gets shifted to a man that's walking toward us. It's Klaus.

Elena quickly scribbles something down... _Be smart. It could ruin his career, and your potential to get out of here._

As much as I hate to admit it, she's right. I need to be careful, I don't want to be the one responsible for wrecking both of our futures.

I reluctantly nod my head and watch her walk back toward the building, erasing her slab on the way inside.

Klaus comes up and greets me.

"I brought something for you," he says, handing me a small object wrapped in a napkin.

"What is it?" I ask.

"A cookie," he whispers, sitting down beside me, "Put it in your pocket before someone sees."

"Oh, thank you!" I exclaim, quickly stashing it away, "I also have something for you."

"Oh, really?" he asks, surprised.

I nod my head and hand him the small, cheaply wrapped present that I had lying next to me.

"It's your 'going away' present," I tell him as he tears off the paper.

In his hands reveals a small, handmade picture frame, lined with the seashells I collected from the beach. The frame shows two pictures of us when we went into the photo booth at the pier, (the other two photos I kept for myself). I made it in arts and crafts when he wasn't here yesterday.

"Oh wow, this is great!" He exclaims, "But don't you want to keep this for yourself as a memory?"

I shrug, "I want _you_ to remember."

At first he doesn't speak.

"... I love this," he finally says, "Thank you, Caroline."

I give him a soft smile, "You're welcome."

"Hey," he says, turning his body to face me, "I have good news. I'm coming back in the Winter."

I quietly gasp and my stomach does an overwhelming amount of somersaults.

"I'm really glad to hear that," I tell him excitedly, "What time do you have to leave today?"

He looks around, avoiding my eyes.

"Erm... now," he mumbles.

I try to remain expressionless, "Oh..."

For a long moment we just sit in silence, staring at each other. Then he pulls me into a hug, keeping it as short and sweet as possible. I savor it as much as I can, feeling what it's like to be surrounded by home one last time before he's gone.

When he lets go, a deep pain spreads in my chest.

"_He's coming back_," I mentally tell myself, "_Don't worry_."

"I'll miss you," I quietly tell him.

"Try not to think about it," he says calmly, "Stay focused and get better. I'll be back before you know it."

I nod my head in agreement. I want to prove to him how strong I can be. I _need_ to.

I watch him stand up to leave, not ready to let him go.

"Caroline," he says hesitantly, "I'm going to miss you too... a lot."

I give him a sad smile, "Bye, Klaus."

He smiles back, "Goodbye, Dimps."

Then with those last words, he turns away and walks back to the building. I watch as he carries away my stolen heart with him.

**(A/N: GUYS... Chapter 10 is gonna be soooooo good. I can't wait for you to explode from the feelz. Once again, if you have any questions just direct them to my tumblr, it's the same username as this one. Don't forget to review!)**


	10. Kiss Me

**(A/N: My favorite chapter is here! I can't wait to hear what you guys think! So many feeeeeels. The song for this chapter is "Kiss Me" by Jason Walker. Guys, this is such a Klaroline song, you need to listen to it if you haven't already. Listen. Read. Review. ENJOY!)**

**Klaus's POV:**

It's been almost two months since I last saw Caroline. Every day I'm not with her is harder than the one before. I distract myself with schoolwork to get by, although that doesn't always seem to work.

I glance up from my anatomy book for a moment and stare at the framed picture that Caroline gave me. I think back to the time when she told me that I needed to start getting more comfortable with the 'female anatomy' if I wanted to be a doctor. A smile slowly makes its way onto my face.

I'm immediately snapped back to reality when I hear Kol in the kitchen, raiding the pantry and slamming cabinets like it's nobody's business.

"Um, Where the hell are my teddy grahams?" he asks in a rather panicked tone.

"Gone." I reply simply, returning my focus to the anatomy book.

The noise in the kitchen stops, "GONE?"

"Kol," I say, closing my eyes, "You wiped out every song on my ipod and replaced them with _terrible_, estrogen-filled, pop songs."

"That's great," he says, walking over to me, "Would you care to explain what that has to do with my missing teddy grahams?"

I set down my book, placing my highlighter in the bind, and slowly walk up to him.

I put myself inches apart from his face, "I. Ate. Them."

His face boils tomato-red.

"Oh, you horrible-" Kol spits out, stopping mid-sentence to tackle me backwards into the wall.

I grunt and sock him in the kidney, causing him to loosen his grip on me. I see my opportunity, and pull my leg out beneath him, tripping him backwards onto the floor.

Just as I'm climbing on top of him, pinning his arms to the ground, I feel my phone start to buzz in my back pocket.

I dig into my jeans and pull it out, checking the caller-ID, "It's my work, time out!"

"White flag! Okay!" he shouts, surrendering with his hands up.

"Okay!" I shout back and answer my phone, "Hello?"

"Klaus?" says the nervous voice on the other end.

My stomach unleashes a cage of butterflies, "Caroline?"

Kol immediately punches me in the stomach, knocking the wind and butterflies right out of me. The little devil.

"Yeah, it's me," she rushes out in a panicked tone.

I quickly backhand Kol and run into the bathroom, locking myself inside.

"H-how did you get this number?" I choke out between coughs, trying to catch my breath from the hit.

From outside, Kol pounds his fist on the bathroom door, "You had better replace every damn one of those teddy grahams, Klaus! I'm not kidding!"

I ignore him by plugging the ear that doesn't have the phone held to it. His voice drowns out as I focus on Caroline's.

"I got it from Elijah's list of contacts on his cell," she says quietly, "He doesn't know I took it."

"You took Elijah's phone!?" I exclaim.

"No!- Well, yes- but only for a moment," she replies defensively, "He has it back now."

Kol's voice becomes louder, "I HAVE LOW BLOOD SUGAR. You _knew_ that! And I really needed those today!"

I continue to ignore him, "Caroline, why did you call?"

She starts to whimper. I can barely hear it through Kol's tantrum, and the static of the phone, but I would be able recognize that sound from a mile away. She's in pain.

"I'm so sorry," she says, voice cracking, "But Halloween is coming and I _know_ I won't be okay that night."

"Caroline, what's going on?" I ask her sincerely.

"_You're_ the nurse!" Kol shouts, "You're supposed to take care of people! Why would you do something like that?"

"Hold on, Caroline-" I say, and turn to the door, "FOR CRAP'S SAKE, KOL! THIS IS AN IMPORTANT CALL!"

He stops banging, "When you get out of there, you are _so_ dead! Do you hear me?"

"Yeah, whatever," I mutter, rolling my eyes.

I hear Caroline release a deep breath into the phone.

"I haven't been okay without you," she confesses, "I get by, but I'm not okay. And I've been more on edge lately. I hit things without even thinking before hand. My speech gets all jumbled up at random parts of the day. I can't sleep. I forget where I am and what I'm doing most of the time-"

I interject, "Have you told Dr. Gilbert? Or Elijah?"

"Of course," she replies, now sobbing, "They know I'm going to probably hallucinate soon but they want me to try and get through it without my medication. I don't want to have another episode, Klaus! I'm _scared_!"

"Caroline, relax," I tell her calmly, "Do you have a nurse that takes care of you?"

"Lexi," she replies, sniffling.

"Can she stay with you?"

"She works during the day, and even then, she's strict. She's all about _tough love_."

"I can't help you, sweetheart," I say with remorse, "I don't work there right now, and I have a midterm the day after-"

"Klaus _please_," she begs, the saddest tone coating voice, "I know I'm going to crack and I _need_ you by my side when I do. Just one night and I'll suck it up until you come back in the Winter."

Those pesky butterflies are back, "Can you say that last part one more time?"

"What? About sucking it up?" She asks, her voice a little more under control.

I lean my forehead against the wall,"No... that you need me."

She pauses for a moment before responding.

"_I need you_."

I exhale and close my eyes. Those words, directed at me, sound so good coming out of her mouth.

"Alright," I tell her, opening my eyes and lifting my head back up, "I'll ask my professor if I can take the midterm early."

A voice on Caroline's end starts calling for her.

"I have to go," she says quickly, "Halloween night, please don't forget."

"Wait, Car-," I say, but the phone line goes dead.

Why is Halloween so important?

**Caroline's POV:**

I wait for Klaus in the lobby, sitting in one of the cushioned seats and anxiously kicking my feet against the floor.

"_Please remember_," I think to myself, "_Please be here_."

I start to twiddle my thumbs again. It doesn't calm my nerves, but it keeps me distracted.

After a while, I get bored of sitting in the same spot. I take a sigh and stand up, now pacing the floor. At the corner of my eye, I catch the front door opening. I quickly whip my head around to see who's here.

It's Matt.

"Hey you!" He greets, pulling me into a quick hug.

"Hi Matt," I say, returning the gesture, "It's good to see you, it's been a while."

"Yeah, it has. You seem antsy. Everything okay?" he asks, rubbing my shoulders.

"I'm fine, I just-,"

I don't complete my sentence. I'm cut off by the sight of Klaus entering into building.

Matt waves his hand in my face, "Hello? Caroline?"

"I'm sorry, we'll catch up later," I say, taking off in Klaus's direction. He catches me as I fling myself into his arms. His scent overpowers me with feelings of warmth and comfort.

"_Home_," I breathe out softly, melting into his embrace.

"Hey," he whispers into my hair, "I need to check-in with Elijah. Stay here, I'll be right out."

He lets go of me and walks behind the receptionist's desk.

"Wait, Klaus," I call after him, he turns around, "Thank you for coming."

He flashes me a warm smile, "I told you I'd do anything for you."

I give a nervous laugh. If only he knew how good that sounded coming from him.

"I have to wonder though," he states, "Why tonight?"

"Halloween is the scariest night of the year," I explain, "My imagination gets too wild, and I'm already edgy enough as it is."

He nods his head understandingly, "You're lucky my Professor let me take the midterm early."

"I know," I say, looking down, "I'm sorry about that."

"Don't be, I'm glad I have it over with," he says lightly, "And now I get to spend my night catching up with you."

He gives me a playful wink, and then enters into the 'staff only' room. I sit back down on one of the chairs and wait for him in the lobby.

I can relax now. He's here.

I feel bad for blowing off Matt, but I think he'll forgive me. Besides, I'm sure he was just as anxious to go see Elena. He probably didn't want to be caught up with me in friendly chit-chat for too long.

When Klaus comes back out, he puts a visitor tag on his black v-neck sweatshirt, and walks with me to my room.

On the way there, he explains about Elijah letting him stay this one night on the basis that he keeps it strictly professional. Great, more note-taking.

We spend the remainder of our evening catching up and reminiscing.

He tells me about his living conditions with Kol and I tell him about how I'm adapting to my new caregiver, Lexi.

She's nice, just strict. She does care about me and wants to see me succeed, but between her and Klaus, I don't think they'd get along. She's only here during the day though, so there's no worry about the two of them clashing heads on how to take care of me.

After Klaus asks questions and takes notes in his booklet, he comes over to the bed and sits down next to me.

"Holy cow," he states, jumping back up from the mattress, "No wonder you can't sleep. This bed is _horrible_."

"Oh come on," I laugh, "It's not that bad!"

He scoffs, "No screw that, I'm not sitting there."

"Well, fine then. I'm tired anyways, so good night to you, _sir_," I mock playfully.

He chuckles, "You want me to turn off the lights?"

"NO," I state firmly, "Just dim them. My imagination gets too wild in the dark."

"Alright," he says, fading the brightness in the room, "I'll be right here if you need me."

He sits down in the cushioned seat by the bed, and with that, I fall asleep having a faint smile attached to my face.

* * *

I don't feel like I've slept for long when I hear a high-pitched voice at the edge of my bed.

"_Caroline, wake up_," It says.

I squint my eyelids open and peer at the foot of the mattress. My eyes go wide with terror.

A girl with similar features as Elena looks down at me, an evil smile etched across her face. The only difference is that she has black eyes with veins popping out around them. Her mouth is covered in blood, her grin showing off a set of sharp, white fangs.

I don't move. I don't breathe. I can't speak.

I'm terrified.

"_Game on_," she says, jumping on top of me and sticking my pillow over my face.

**Klaus's POV:**

I jolt awake to the sound of Caroline's scream. She's holding her pillow tightly over her head.

"Caroline, stop!" I yell, ripping the pillow away from her.

She sits upwards and stares at the other end of the room, kicking her feet at the edge of the bed.

"She's going to _kill_ me!" she yells, pulling at her hair.

I follow her gaze to the other end of the room, "No one's there, Caroline. It's _not real_."

She gives out another loud scream, "Help me, _please_!"

"What is it? What are you seeing?" I ask, staying close by her side.

"There's a vampi-," she says, stopping midway to scream again, "Now there's more of them! They're _everywhere_!"

She kicks herself off of the bed, falling down onto the floor. I kneel down beside her.

"Make it stop! Make it stop!" she yells, the panic and desperation rising in her voice. She tugs at her hair again and curls up into a ball.

I rip the blanket off of her bed and completely cover ourselves with it.

"There, now their gone," I say, pulling her into my arms, "Hey, look at me."

"Pat the fire extinguisher junk call," she says while sobbing.

She's not making sense again.

"Caroline! _Look_ at me!" I plead, holding her against me with one hand, and holding up the blanket with the other.

I can feel her frantic heart beating against my chest. Her panicked breaths start to ease as she lets them out slowly. I could taste her breath on my tongue, she's so close to me. Too close.

I need to back away, keep my distance, but I don't. I stay motionless and keep her held close to me. The only sound is our breathing.

Our foreheads meet, and we rest them against each other, eyes shut. I fight the urge to move my face anymore forward. We stay like that for about a minute, and then our noses touch. She sweetly moves hers against mine, and I try to remain completely still. This moment is too fragile, and I can't bring myself to end it.

I _can't_.

I feel her fingertips reach the stubble on my chin, and slowly sift and play through my scruff. Then she moves them to my lips, testing the waters by lightly tracing them. She does that for a few seconds, and then they leave.

I know what is coming next, but I don't have the strength to stop it. I give in to the moment.

Her lips lightly brush up against my bottom lip, and then they stay there. Warm, smooth, and gentle. I purse mine slightly, and a tingling sensation starts to spread in them.

Now _my_ heart is beating rapidly. Why does this have to feel so good?

I can't move. I don't even try. I've lost all will power.

She lingers there for a short moment, and then gently breaks away. The tingling feeling in my lips are gone.

I open my eyes and see hers glistening in the darkness back at mine. We say nothing.

She starts to lean in again.

"Stop," I whisper kindly, but firmly.

Then another voice enters the room, "Hey... Watcha guys doin' underneath that blanket?"

It's Stefan.

I quickly throw the covers off of us, flustered and panicked.

"Nothing, brah," I get out nervously.

"_Bra_?" he mocks, "I'm not your _bra_! Since when do use _that_ term?"

He starts laughing. Thank goodness, he doesn't seem suspicious.

"Sorry, it's late," I breathe out, "Just helping Caroline block out the hallucinations. What are you doing here?"

"I'm on graveyard duty," he replies, "I heard Caroline screaming and came over."

"I'm okay," she replies, speaking up, "I just need to go back to sleep."

He looks between the two of us, "You sure?"

She nods her head.

"Alright, I'll be outside if you need anything," he says, and exits the room.

Caroline gets back into her bed and I toss the blanket over her body.

"Klaus, I-"

"Not now," I interject, trying to keep my mind blank, "We'll talk in the morning. Get some rest."

She looks me in the eye and then slowly nods her head.

I sit back in my chair and let out a deep sigh.

_What have I done?_

* * *

She's been out for a couple of hours now. I take this time to observe any changes in her room.

There is a clock by her bed, which has always been there. The insect calendar on her wall has changed to the month of October. The picture now shows a butterfly breaking out of its cocoon. On her desk there is chapstick, a bottle of water, coloring pencils in a jar, blank pieces of paper, and two framed pictures.

I lean in to get a closer look. The first picture is the same one in Liz's home, where they're at the beach. The other is of us in the photobooth at the pier. I wonder how long it will be before we can take another picture like that.

Anyways, it doesn't matter. I shouldn't be thinking things like that. I shouldn't be having these _feelings_ for her.

I need to get myself together and take care of this.

**(A/N: They finally kiiiiissed. Lol. Are you happy? Sad? If you have any questions, just direct them to my tumblr. My username on there is the same as this one. Leave me your reviews and tell me what you lovely people think!)**


	11. Gravity

**(A/N: WOW. It's been a while. SO SORRY! I hope you will forgive me now that I've updated! The title/song for this chapter is "Gravity" by Sara Bareilles. Listen. Read. Review. Enjoy!)**

**Caroline's POV:**

We never ended up talking in the morning, he was long gone by the time I woke up. I didn't bother with calling him again either. How could I after what I did?

I was stupid. Of _course_ I scared him away.

I don't even know how I'm going to face him again when he comes back today. A month and a half was not enough time for me to think things over.

And yet... I can't wait to see him again.

I won't deny that I enjoyed the kiss. It was sweet and tender. Absolutely perfect.

But now things are different, and the twisting knots in my stomach indicate that it's not a good thing.

There's no use in avoiding it. We'll have to talk about it at some point, and I'd like to do it sooner rather than later. I'll confront him about it when I get a moment alone with him.

For now, I'm sitting in the rec room and playing a card game with Elena and Matt. It's called 'James Bond'. We each have four piles of four cards, there are four separate cards in the center of the table, not belonging to anyone. The object of the game is to get four of a kind in each of our piles by switching out the cards we don't need, to the ones we do need in the center of the table. Everyone plays at once, so there are no turns, making it go very fast. Once a player has four of a kind in each of their piles, they shout out 'James Bond' and win the game.

All I need is a seven to win, so I wait patiently for the card to show up in the pot while Matt and Elena shuffle furiously through their cards.

Matt drops the seven and another card. I grab it out of the pot while Elena scrambles for the other card across from me.

Before I have enough time, Elena puts her last pile down in front of her and quickly holds up her white board which reads: _JAMES BOND!_

"Oh come on!" Matt whines, pushing his cards away from him, "I was so close!"

"No, that doesn't look right," I say playfully, reaching out and mixing up all of her cards.

Matt and I laugh while Elena tries to slap my hands away.

"Hey, where is Jeremy?" I ask, as I push the cards to the center of the table, "Wasn't he supposed to join us?"

Elena shrugs. I look to Matt.

He hesitates to respond, "He's in the teen ward... seeing Anna."

Elena and I drop our jaws at the same time.

"What do you mean he's_ seeing _Anna_?_" I question him.

"Look," he says, putting up his hands in defense, "I'm not going to speak for him, you'll have to ask him yourself."

"Matt," I emphasize, "Talk. Now."

He releases a defeated sigh as Elena and I wait impatiently for an answer.

"He's been seeing her on his own for a few weeks now," he confesses, gathering the cards into his hands, "You'll have to ask him for details."

"_Details?_" I express loudly, "What do you mean _details_? There are _details_?"

Elena starts scribbling furiously on her white board.

"There shouldn't be any _details_, Matt," I say, closing my eyes and rubbing the temples on my forehead, "Why does he insist on pursuing her? Out of every girl in the world, why _her_?"

Matt shrugs as he shuffles the deck, "He feels a connection with her."

Elena holds up her white board... _Please, tell me they're not actually 'together'._

Matt's lack of words answers her question.

I stick out my tongue in disgust, "_Blegh_, I'm gonna be sick."

"What's your deal?" He asks accusingly, "You have no problem with Elena and I..."

"That's different," I say, glaring at him, "You and Elena were together before she ended up in here. Jeremy has a chance to actually go out and meet a normal, nice girl!"

"Well," he starts, "He doesn't _want_ a 'normal, nice girl'. He wants _her_."

My argument stops. I have nothing to say back to him. It's not like I can change how Jeremy feels, especially when he isn't even present.

Elena lightly taps my knee and surreptitiously passes the white board onto my lap.

I look down to read what it says... _Speaking of inappropriate relationships, look up at your 12 o'clock._

I do as she says, trying to be as smooth and subtle as possible. I catch a glimpse of Klaus quickly moving out of the door frame and into the hallway.

I roll my eyes.

"_Thanks_, Elena," I tell her sarcastically, and go after him.

Wait, did he just- Is he trying to avoid me?

**Klaus's POV:**

As soon as Caroline's eyes catch me, I dash over to the closest room I can find, which happens to be the Janitor's closet. I'm ready to make my hideaway when I swing open the door and find Meredith and Stefan locking lips and groping each other.

I swing my hands up in shock, "Whoa! When did _this_ happen?"

They pull away and Meredith starts to blush. Stefan, however, seems pretty proud of himself.

"Sorry," he says, straightening himself out, "We were on our lunch break."

"I need to go," Meredith says while giggling, and quickly shuffles out to the hallway.

Stefan flashes a cocky grin.

"Well this seems like a romantic setting," I joke, looking around at the tightly cramped closet.

Stefan's finger swirls in the air, "No cameras."

"Ah, I see."

He smooths out his hair and walks out of the room, "We'll talk later, I gotta go finish my lunch break if you know what I mean."

Way to go, mate. Go get some.

"We have a lot to catch up on," I call out as he walks after Meredith.

Suddenly I feel a pair of hands at my back, shoving me into the closet. I turn around and see Caroline following in, and closing the door after us.

Damn. I forgot I was trying to hide from her.

"Caroline, what-"

"We need to talk," she interjects, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

I sigh and look away from her, "Look, this isn't a good time."

I need to fix the damage I've done, but I don't know how. All I can do is try to buy myself more time. I guess it's pointless, really. It's not like I can do it forever.

"You're avoiding me," she says definitely.

I shift my eyes back to hers,"No, I'm not. I-,"

My sentence is cut short by the pained expression on her face, and I know I can't continue lying to her.

I don't let my emotions show, and instead, try to remain as professional as possible.

"I've been assigned to a new patient," I tell her flatly, "You're no longer my responsibility, and I'm no longer your nurse. Lexi is to take care of you from here on out."

**Caroline's POV**:

The words sink in and I shake my head, but I can't seem to rattle them back out. I sensed this was coming, but I didn't want to hear the words out loud.

I quiet my voice, "Is this my fault?"

"No," he replies simply.

I nod my head and give a sigh of relief. At least I didn't get him into trouble.

"Can I still see you?" I ask hopefully.

He hesitates before answering, "I don't think that's a good idea."

"Because we kissed?" I ask.

There. I said it. No more beating around the bush.

He looks into my eyes carefully, "No, that's not the reason."

My eyebrows knit together in confusion. I'm suddenly overwhelmed with annoyance and frustration.

I raise my voice slightly, "I don't understand, then why?"

"I'm seeing someone," he blurts out.

His words hit me like a tidal wave of bricks. Knots form again in my stomach as they twist and pull on my insides. It feels as though I've been punched hard in the chest. The pain is almost unbearable, but I don't let my face show it.

"O-Oh," I force out, "I'm sorry, I didn't know."

He raises his arm awkwardly and scratches his head.

"It's alright," he reassures me, "We're fairly new. It's been about a month."

Please stop talking.

"You're right," I tell him, nodding my head a little too quickly, "It's good that we stay apart."

I try to stay focused in the conversation, but all I can think about is how her lips have been where I've marked mine. That his hands caress her body freely, while our first kiss had to be hidden underneath a blanket. Oh my gosh, have they even had sex yet?

He clears his throat, "I just don't want to lead you on, ya know? And I really care about Tatia."

No. I don't want to know her name. Just _please,_ stop talking.

"I understand, don't worry about me," I say in a rush, trying to quickly end the conversation.

"Caroline," he expresses, "I care about you too, and I don't want to hurt you."

Will you please please please please please please stop talking?

"I need to leave," I say, my breath getting short, "This closet is making me claustrophobic."

I open the door and walk out to the hallway. I hear him call after me but I don't respond. My feet keep moving automatically, leading me nowhere in particular.

He doesn't come after me, which is a good thing. All I want to do is be by myself right now. Especially because I can feel a large pressure of water start to build and sting the back of my eyes. I don't want anyone to see me cry and then ask 'what's wrong'.

I walk like a zombie down the hall, not really paying any attention to where I'm going. My feet end up taking me back to the rec room where I collapse, face first, into the couch.

"Rough day?" A deep voice asks me.

I look up in the direction it came from and see a handsome boy, around my age, wearing all white scrubs. My curiosity overrides my gloom for a short moment as I engage in conversation with him.

"Who are you?" I question, hoisting myself up on my elbows, "I've never seen you around here before."

"That's because I'm new," he says, getting up from his sofa and plopping himself down next to me. I sit myself upright to give him space.

"New? Uh-oh, what are you in for?" I tease.

"Delusional," he replies with a sigh, "Everyone's out to get me, what can I say?"

I giggle at his sarcastic tone, his sense of humor is like mine.

"I have Delirium," I say, turning my body toward him, "I see things that aren't really there and have crazy mood swings."

He squints his eyes and tilts his head to the side, "That just sounds like really bad PMS."

I laugh hard at that, "Oh, so PMS causes hallucinations now?"

"Well, women do tend to only see what they think is _wrong_ with them around that time of the month," he says in a 'matter-of-fact' tone, "When you guys say, 'I'm so fat' or 'I'm breaking out'. That's just crazy, because all I see is beauty."

I get the feeling like he's hitting on me, and I start to feel the pain in my chest again.

He sees the pained expression on my face and doesn't try to ignore it, "So what were you so upset about earlier?"

I tear manages to escape from my eyelid and trickle down my cheek. I start to get mad at myself as I wipe it away.

"I just want to go home," I choke out, telling him the partial-truth; he doesn't know that my _home_ happens to be Klaus. My best friend in the entire world who I'm absolutely in love with, and he's _seeing_ someone. My home has been infiltrated. My sanctuary is broken.

"Me too," he confides, taking my hand.

I give him a weak smile and intertwine my fingers with his, "I'm Caroline, by the way."

"I'm Tyler," he says, returning the smile.

He's very sweet.

As I hold his hand, I think to myself, "_It's nice to not be alone._"

**(A/N: DON'T PANIC. That's all I can say regarding Forwood, lol. Leave me reviews and tell me what you think! Or just nag me to update, it really motivates me to write faster. Don't forget to direct your questions to my tumblr. My user name on there is the same as this one.)**


	12. The Last Time & Comfortable

**(A/N: I would like to dedicate this chapter to my lovely friend Ariel (aka: derpklaus), for her magnificent fan art for 'Delirium'! You can view it with the link on my bio page. Seriously guys, I'm in love with all the fan art and gif sets, keep sending them! My tumblr user name is the same as this one. With that being said, I give you the next chapter. The title has two songs again: "The Last Time" by Taylor Swift, and "Comfortable" by John Mayer. Listen. Read. Review. Enjoy!)**

**Klaus's POV:**

"Here is your new patient," Elijah tells me in his office, slapping a folder on his desk in front of me.

I pick it up and quickly fumble through the pages, not really taking in the details. My mind is being preoccupied with the fact that I _hurt_ Caroline yesterday.

It was obvious. The pain was written all over her face, and I felt disgusting for it. I made her hope for too much. I let things get carried away.

_And it's all my fault._

I want to tell her I'm sorry, take her in my arms, and kiss her like I mean it. I would show her how a _real_ kiss feels, and by doing so, take away her fears and pains. I want to tell her that I'll never hurt her again, and that I fall in love with her more and more every day.

I want to start over.

But I can't.

Caroline was never supposed to find out about Tatia. But I guess I should have known better, keeping things from her is not something I'm good at.

"Tyler Lockwood," I say dully, reading the name at the top of the file, "What's his deal?"

"He's delusional," Elijah states.

"What type?" I ask, looking up at him and placing the folder in my lap.

He glances down at the file and then gives me a peculiar look.

"Sorry, I don't feel like reading right now," I say flatly.

He nods his head once, understanding that I'm having an off-day, and then moves on.

"Jealous type," he responds, "Last girlfriend went awol and he made it up in his mind that his uncle, Mason Lockwood, had run off with her. He ended up going to Mason's house in the middle of the night, and ripped his throat out while he was sleeping."

"Jeez!" I exclaim, "And the girl?"

"She's fine," he explains, "When questioned, she didn't even _know_ who Mason was. Turns out, she actually ran away to another state to get away from Tyler. According to her, he was getting possessive and controlling; That seemed to scare her away pretty fast."

"Well, that's interesting," I say, rubbing my palm over my face, "Why are we letting him stay here? Shouldn't he be in solitary confinement or something?"

He shrugs, "Maybe. The boy was as clean as a whistle up until this incident. John thinks it might be good for him to be surrounded by people like himself. Which is why I'm handing him over to you, I know you'll keep a good eye on him."

"Are you kidding me? Elijah, he could be _seriously_ dangerous in here."

"Or this could be a good thing, and he gets better," he replies justly, "You know what to do. Talk to him, take notes, and don't let him out of your sight. We'll know what to do with him soon enough."

I sigh and nod my head politely. I have a bad feeling about this, but there isn't much I can do except make sure Tyler behaves himself while he's in here.

"Do you know where he is right now?" I ask, getting up from my seat.

"Out on the yard, last time I checked," he says, leaning back in his chair, "I think Stefan is temporarily keeping an eye on him."

I nod my head and walk out of his office, taking Tyler's folder with me. My feet drag reluctantly as I take my sweet time getting over to him. It's already a bad day, and I really don't feel up to the task of 'keeping an eye' on this boy who shouldn't even be here.

But Mikael is waiting to watch me fail, and I have to prove him wrong. I can't show myself being weak, I will _not_ give him that satisfaction.

I open the door to the main hallway, barely making it out a few steps, when I am greeted by a friendly slap on the back.

"You sly dog, why didn't you say anything?" Stefan says into my ear.

I turn my face to him as we continue to walk together.

"What are you talking about?" I ask him perplexedly.

"Your _hot_ new girlfriend, Tatia?" he says, pushing a brown lunch bag in my hands, "She dropped this off for you. I told her you were in a meeting and that I would give it to you."

I sigh and roll my eyes. I told her not to come here. Caroline is too fragile right now, and if she sees her, it's only going to make things worse.

"She even brought you a lunch," he says encouragingly, "Nice work man, that's points!"

"Thank you," I say flatly.

Tatia is sweet... She's not Caroline.

This relationship was only meant to be a distraction, to keep me from going after the thing that I _really_ want. Now I'm thinking I bit off more than I can chew.

"What ever happened to 'not having enough time' for dating?" He teases.

"I made room," I reply stoically, "Aren't you supposed to be watching the Lockwood patient right now?"

"Lexi's got an eye on him," he says indifferently, "He's out on the yard, hanging out with Caroline."

I stop dead in my tracks.

"_What?_"

**Caroline's POV:**

"Share with me something you've never told anyone before," Tyler asks sincerely.

We're walking around the yard, goofing off and telling stories about ourselves. I leave out the parts about Klaus entirely.

I keep that sacred knowledge to myself.

"Like what?" I ask, pulling my jacket closer to my body.

It's freezing cold outside from last night's snowfall. I can see my warm breath form small clouds every time I open my mouth to talk.

"I don't know," he says, kicking his feet in the snow, "Anything."

Well, there's no way I'm telling him about Klaus and I, so I come up with something else.

"I like horses," I tell him.

"Booooriiiing," he drones out.

I chuckle, "Okay, now it's your turn."

He thinks for a minute, stops walking, and then turns to face me.

"I am horny like, _all the time_," he confesses.

I laugh out loud and shake my head from side to side quickly.

"You didn't have to tell me _that_!" I exclaim.

"Oh, but it makes it so much more fun! The deeper we go, the more interesting things get," he says, lifting his eyebrows up and down.

I roll my eyes.

"Alright then, I think I have something," I say, crossing my arms over my chest, "I've never built a snowman before."

"_What_?" he asks incredulously.

I nod my head in reaffirmation.

"Okay, we need to remedy this _now_," he says, and starts to dig his fingernails into the snow.

"We don't even have any supplies," I argue, "What are we going to put on him?"

"We'll think of something, don't you worry," he says, smiling up at me.

I smile back and join him on the ground, giving in to the excitement.

There's not a lot of snow left over from last night, but we gather what we can and start to build a snowman.

We've just finished putting on the second ball when he wipes a bit of snow onto my nose.

"Hey!" I call out, playfully hitting him in the shoulder.

He chuckles and sticks out his tongue like a five year old.

"Excuse me," a deep voice says from behind, "Caroline, can I see you for a minute?"

I turn around to see a flustered Klaus, impatiently waiting for me to answer.

"Yeah sure," I reply, a bit confused.

He nods his head and lightly pulls me by the arm to the direction of the surrounding fence. My heartbeat skips. This is the first time he's touched me in over a month.

I almost have to jog to keep up my pace with him, he's walking so fast.

He stops abruptly when we reach the fence, and turns my body to face him.

"I don't want you hanging around _him_ anymore," he says flashing an angry glare at Tyler.

I am baffled.

I blink twice and rattle my head in confusion.

"What is _wrong_ with you?" I ask accusingly, "What do you have against Tyler?"

His face turns back to me.

"Caroline," he says, placing his hands on my shoulders, "I need you to trust me on this. Tyler is dangerous."

I keep an eyebrow raised and look over at Tyler, he's now rolling the third snowball. He catches my gaze and throws a friendly wave. I return the gesture.

"Right, bunnies will duck and cover in fear," I state sarcastically, directing my attention back to Klaus, "Look, what is this really about?"

His face looks astonished. His lips form a smooth line. His eyes stare at me in frustration.

"I'm telling you the truth."

"Really?" I scoff, "Wow, where do I even start? You know, it's funny that you're standing here right now, pretending to actually give a crap when you don't have that right anymore. _You're_ not responsible for me."

"Care, I-"

"I'm not finished," I say, raising my voice, "Tyler is the only thing holding me together right now, okay? You can't just expect me to automatically be okay when you drop the bomb that you have a _girlfriend_."

"Shh," he says, looking around us, "Keep your voice down."

I close my eyes, take a deep breath, and exhale. Why do I feel like crying again?

I let a moment pass before I speak again.

"You kissed me back," I say quietly, eyes still shut, "And you left me alone."

Silence.

I open my eyes and look up at him. His face is solemn. His eyes, avoiding mine, are fixated on the snowy ground.

"Klaus, just tell me," I beg, bringing my voice down to a whisper, "Do you have feelings for me?"

His eyes pop up back to mine. His expression is unreadable.

For a moment we just stare at each other, and I try to rack my brain to figure out what he's thinking.

There's a long pause before he speaks again.

"_Don't_ get close with him," he says softly, completely avoiding the question, and walks back toward the building.

I grit my teeth as I feel my heart shatter once again.

"Too late," I spit at him, turning on my heel and walking back to Tyler.

**Klaus's POV:**

I need to put a far amount of distance between me and Caroline, while I can still keep an eye on Tyler. I don't trust him with her.

I start heading over to the farthest corner of the yard when I feel a hand tap me on my shoulder.

"Hey," a high-pitched voice greets.

I turn around and see a skinny woman, with long blonde hair, wearing the same green scrubs as me. She's got a giant snow jacket on, which makes my bare arms tremble when I realize that I'm not wearing one.

I guess I got a little caught up in the moment when I came rushing outside to find Caroline.

"I'm Lexi," she says, "You must be Klaus."

She holds her hand out to me and I shake it respectfully.

"That would be me," I say, "You're the one taking care of Caroline then?"

"That's right," she says, stuffing her hands inside her coat pockets, "I can see you're having a hard time letting her go."

"I was trying to warn her about Tyler," I explain.

"I understand," she says sympathetically, "But with all do respect, that's _my_ job now. I know Tyler's history, and from what I've seen, they're actually _helping_ one another."

"But-"

"Listen," she says firmly, "I'll take care of my patient, you take care of yours."

"She's not _safe_ around him."

"Well then, I guess you better keep a close eye on him," she snaps back, brushing past me without saying another word.

I don't turn around, and instead, direct my attention back to Tyler and Caroline. They're talking and laughing with each other. She's happy.

He's just put a handful of snow down her back. She shrieks and playfully hits him in the chest. He grabs her and wraps his arms tightly around her.

I ball my hands tightly into fists. My blood starts to boil with anger.

_He doesn't even know her._

_She deserves better._

I suddenly realize that my fingernails are cutting into my skin from clenching too tightly.

I let go and breathe out a deep sigh.

This is the sight I'll be watching from now on. So I better get used to it.

* * *

I spent so much energy on anger, that by the end of the work day, I have become worn out and exhausted. My feet drag up the steps to my apartment. I can hear Zokie on the other side of the door, barking and acknowledging my return home.

I turn my key in the lock and twist the doorknob open to be greeted with sloppy wet kisses, and little paws on my thighs.

Kol is on the couch, playing video games with Damon. Again.

I shut the door, set my things down, and give Zokie some love.

"Good evening brother, there's a surprise waiting for you in your room," Kol says with a smile.

I eye him suspiciously.

"Yeah, a _hot_ one," Damon teases.

"Shut up!" Kol says, hitting him with a pillow from the couch.

Damon laughs.

I ignore their bantering and begin to approach my room with caution. I slowly open the door to find Tatia, sitting on my bed with a small pile of clothes in her hands.

"Hey, what's going on?" I ask her with my best smile.

I really just want to be by myself right now.

"Klaus, why haven't we had sex yet?" She blurts out.

My mouth slowly drops as I close the door behind me.

"I-um..." I mumble out, not quite finding the right words to say.

"We haven't done _anything_ yet," she says bluntly, " I mean- Do you _want_ to have sex?"

Would now be a bad time to use the 'It's not you, it's me' line?

"Tatia, this really isn't a good time," I try to explain.

She nods her head slowly, letting the words sink in.

"Your dog hates me by the way," she says, changing subjects, "Practically bit my hand off when I came inside."

"Well, to be fair, neither of us knew you were coming," I say lightly, "Now can you tell me why you're here?"

"I was _going_ to 'surprise' you when you came home," she says, gesturing to the _Victoria's Secret_ bag on the floor, "But then I wondered if that was even what you wanted. Especially after I found _these _stashed away in your closet..."

She starts to unfold the fabric in her lap, and my heart drops to the pit of my stomach.

They're Caroline's clothes from the beach, the ones she asked me to hold onto for when she gets out of the hospital.

"Why do you have these?" she asks a little too calmly.

She's suspicious, but I can see she's trying to give me the benefit of the doubt. She wants to believe it's nothing. _I_ want to believe it's nothing. But we both know better.

I raise my arm nervously and scratch the back of my neck.

"I'm saving them," I mutter out.

"For what?" She asks in a harsh tone, slightly raising her voice.

I don't answer. My eyes drift back to the clothes in her hands. I imagine Caroline back at the beach, kicking sand and throwing herself into the waves.

No disorders. No cameras. Just us.

I snap myself out of my daydream and focus my attention back to Tatia.

Her patience is wearing thin.

"Klaus, you better explain, and _fast_."

**(A/N: Please don't forget to review! And thank you to everyone that nominated this story for the 'Klaroline Awards'! It would mean the world to me if you guys could take a second to vote for this fic. You don't need to login to anything, it's just a quick vote. The link will be up on my bio page.)**


	13. Thinking Of You & Madness

**(A/N: This next chapter is dedicated to my friend Melody (aka: dhfreak) for her amazing poster and pic set made for this fic! You can find the link for all the fan made things on my bio page. The title/songs for this chapter are "Thinking of You" by Katy Perry, and "Maddness" by Muse . Listen. Read. Review. Enjoy!)**

**Caroline's POV:**

About a week has passed, and Christmas is just around the corner. Tyler and I have volunteered to help decorate the rec room to create the festive atmosphere. This is something that I've been looking forward to. I need something positive and happy to help brighten my gloomy life at the moment. Tyler is a good source for that, but it seems to be harder lately since Klaus is always around, watching him, and therefore watching _us_.

I'm about to round the corner and head into the rec room when Lexi pops into the door frame and takes me aside.

"Caroline, come with me," she says, lightly pushing me forward with her, "I need to talk to you for a minute."

The tone in her voice has me worried.

"Am I in trouble or something?" I ask as we enter one of the small conference rooms.

She closes the door behind us and turns to face me.

Why do I suddenly feel like a seven-year-old who just got caught sneaking a cookie out of the cookie jar?

"When Klaus was your nurse," she starts, "What was the relationship between you two?"

Oh, that's why.

"Platonic," I reply simply, lying through my teeth, "Why?"

She hesitates before responding, and looks me down with skeptical eyes.

"He's very protective of you," she explains, "More than any nurse _should_ be."

Oh no, please don't get him fired. I'd rather have him on the outskirts of my life than to not have him in it at all.

"He's just trying to help," I reply simply, "He wants to see me succeed, ya know? I think he's just worried you'll jeopardize the progress he's made with me-"

"I had to ask," she says, raising a hand to stop me from going any further, "After all, _I_ need to be the one that looks out for you now..."

I nod my head in agreement, trying to end the conversation as quick as possible.

"Am I free to go now?" I ask carefully.

"Yeah," she says, her lips forming a thin smile, "Let's get those decorations up."

We walk back to the rec room in silence. Tyler is already putting tinsel on a giant plastic tree in the corner of the room. Klaus is sitting on the couch facing Tyler, looking down and writing in his notebook.

His head pops up when I walk in. I ignore this and join Tyler with decorating the tree.

"Hey you!" He calls out from the other side of the tree.

"You got started without me!" I whine as he wraps the tinsel around loosely.

"You were late, and I was bored," he says lightly, "You better get started before I do all the work myself."

I roll my eyes and begin to take out some ornaments from a box next to the tree. There are silver and gold round balls, glass angels, and tiny bells. After I put up a little of each, I see a few small wooden candy canes and add them to the masterpiece.

There is one ornament in the box that takes me by surprise. A little Santa Claus sitting on a swing. It's all by itself, no others of its kind. It makes me wonder where it came from and how it got here.

"Hey Care, what do you want for Christmas?" Tyler asks, just as he's done wrapping the tree.

"To get out of here," I say truthfully.

I hang up the Santa Claus, close to the top of the tree, and push him lightly with my finger so he rocks back and forth.

"Well, besides the obvious," he states casually.

I shift my eyes slightly to Klaus as he tries to take an inconspicuous glance up at me. He's stopped writing in his notebook, and he's waiting to hear my answer.

I don't want to give him the satisfaction of knowing what I want, so I turn my back to him and whisper it into Tyler's ear.

"I want to be _surprised_," I say with a grin, and go back to the box to look for more ornaments.

He nods and gives me a wink, "Gotcha."

A smirk makes its way onto my face and I see Klaus out of the corner of my eye, shaking his head. We haven't spoken since our last discussion about Tyler. If he's going to be a jerk, then I'm not going to speak to him. I'm tired of chasing after him. If he wants me, than he needs to show me.

"Caroline, you've been in here for what, ten years?" Tyler asks, now standing on a chair and putting some tinsel on the ceiling.

"Eight," I correct.

"Well, eight years, that's a long time. Have you ever been kissed?" He asks confidently.

I stop digging in the box.

Yes, I have. By my old nurse that I'm still completely in love with. He was my first kiss, and it was absolutely perfect.

"No," I lie, and continue to pull out another ornament, "Why do you ask?"

He turns to look at me and steps down from the chair.

"Because you're standing underneath a mistletoe right now."

**Klaus's POV:**

Tatia and I fixed things between us. I told her that the clothes belonged to Rebekah from the last time she was over at the apartment. She seemed to buy that story.

Our relationship is extremely shaky, and I don't know how much longer I can take of it. I ponder breaking up with her as I sit on the couch, jotting down notes about Tyler.

I take a quick glance up from my notebook to check on him and end up doing a double-take at the scene before me.

He's kissing her.

They're _kissing_.

I should be angry and ready to drag him off of her for violating her perfect lips like that. But I don't. Instead I feel a painful stab in the chest and horribly sinking feeling in my stomach. My heart gets heavy, and my eyes can't seem to peel away.

Because she's kissing him back.

Is this even acceptable? Are they _allowed _to be doing this?

I finally force myself to look at Lexi for a second opinion. I want to see her reaction and if she plans on doing anything about it. Her smiling face suggests that she approves of this type of behavior. I guess we don't have much of a say when it comes to things like this. They seem to be happy, why stop them? He's not hurting her, and it's not like they're having sex.

But it's absolutely unbearable.

I look away and softly bite my tongue, trying to figure out the quickest way out of the room without seeming suspicious.

I can't.

I bite my tongue a little harder and continue to write in my notebook...

_12-18-12_

_Tyler kisses Caroline in the rec room by-_

Great, my pencil broke.

Good job at turning off your emotions, Klaus. Writing down those words isn't easy, but you don't need to press the pencil down so bloody hard.

I get up and make my way over to Lexi in the back of the room, ignoring the PDA to the best of my ability.

Her and Meredith are chatting in the corner.

"Hey," I say, catching their attention, "My pencil broke, I'll be right back."

"Okay, hurry," Lexi says, and continues her conversation with Meredith.

I shuffle my way out of the room as quickly as possible. There's so much in me right now, I feel like I'm going to choke.

I practically burst my way into the staff room and make my way over to Elijah's office. He shouldn't be there right now, and I really need some time to myself.

I'm surprised when I swing the door open to his office and find him sitting in his chair, staring off into space, and doing nothing.

His eyes are red and puffy. He's obviously been crying.

I knit my eyebrows together in confusion, "Elijah?"

It takes him a moment to respond.

"Shut the door," he says flatly.

I do as he says, not taking my eyes off of him. There is a depressing aura in the room and it's extremely unsettling.

"What is it?" I ask worriedly.

He takes a deep breath.

"Dad had a heart attack... He didn't make it."

**(A/N: I know, I know, short update. THE NEXT ONE WILL BE BETTER, I PROMISE. Please don't forget to leave a review, and vote for this fic in the Klaroline Awards! You can find the links to vote in my bio page, it just takes a second and I would really appreciate the support. 3)**


	14. All Alright

**(A/N: Hey everybody! I'm really sorry that it took me forever to get this one out. This chapter was very difficult for me to write. There's a lot of emotion involved and I wanted to make sure that I didn't overdo it. A big 'thank you' to everyone who voted for this story in the Klaroline Awards! I really appreciate your support. The title/song for this chapter is "All Alright" by Fun. Listen. Read. Review. Enjoy!)**

**Klaus's POV:**

"Your blood pressure is high," I tell Tyler, ripping the velcro strap off his arm, "Ease up on the sodium. Are you engaging in enough physical activities?"

"I wish, I daydream about having sex, like, all day long. It feels like I'm dying," Tyler replies, exasperated.

Moron. Not _those_ kind of physical activities.

"So release," I say plainly, whipping out a syringe and taking a sample of his blood, "Do you plan on having any _other_ physical activities?"

"No, all I can really think about is Caroline," he replies smugly, "You see why I'm horny all the time?"

A stupid grin lights up his face and I make a 'not so accidental' pressure on the syringe.

"Ow!" He cries out.

"Oh, I'm sorry, did that hurt?" I ask innocently, taking the needle out of his arm, "My mistake, I must have punctured it in the wrong spot."

I turn my back to him and fill a small vial with his blood from the syringe. My lips can't help themselves as they pull up into a smirk.

"Losin' your touch there buddy," he says, and I turn back around to see him rubbing the arm I punctured.

I shrug and put the vial away, not really caring about anything else he has to say. I grab out a bandage and place it across his arm.

"You're free to go now, Tyler," I say, grabbing his folder and writing down his blood pressure level.

"Isn't Dr. Mikaelson supposed to come in and follow up with me?" he asks, rubbing his arm again.

"Dr. Mikaelson isn't in today," I reply simply, not looking up from the folder.

"Oh," he states perplexedly, "I guess I'll see you later then."

I nod as he gets up to leave, closing the door behind him.

Elijah decided to take the day off to mourn Dad. He suggested that I do the same, but I told him I would be fine. I guess there's not much for me to be mournful about when the man and I never really got along in the first place. Besides, I don't want to leave Caroline alone with Tyler. Especially now that they're getting closer, I don't trust him.

**Caroline's POV:**

"_Please_, try again," Matt begs Elena as we're sitting in the rec room together.

He's been trying to get her to talk to him all morning... without her whiteboard.

For as long as she's been in here, the _doctors_ haven't even been able to get her to talk. But Matt just seems so hopeful, I can't bear to bring him down. All I can do is sit at the end of the couch and try to mind my own business.

Elena doesn't say anything. She looks down at her shoes as I play with my thumbs and wait for Matt to break the painful silence.

"Elena, you're not even _trying_," he states in a frustrated tone.

She doesn't flinch. She just continues to stare down at her feet with sad eyes, mouth shut.

"Matt, c'mon," I tell him calmly, "Give her a break. It's hard for her."

"_No_," he retorts back defensively, "She just needs something strong enough to make her crack."

"You can't _force_ her to crack," I spit back, "She needs to be able to do it on her own."

He shakes his head, "You're all too soft on her. No one knows Elena like I do. She's _stronger_ than this. She can get it together if she wants it bad enough."

We stare at each other for a moment, and then I break away to look at Elena who has a single tear running down her cheek. Her face doesn't scrunch, and her mouth stays shut as she continues to keep her eyes fixated on the floor.

"Elena, baby, look at me," he says, putting her face in his hands, "I love you and I miss you so much. Come back to me. _Fight_ for me. Fight for _us_."

He is soft and sweet with his words. I feel uncomfortable and invasive for watching them share this deeply beautiful and personal moment together.

Her face doesn't make any expression, but she slowly nods her head in agreement and then embraces him in her arms.

This just got really intense really fast.

"I'll give you two some space," I say, getting up from the sofa, "Anyways, I haven't spoken to Elijah in a while. I think I'll go see hi-"

Elena grabs my arm and stops me from walking away.

"What?" I ask, looking down at her.

She lets go of me, grabs the white board out of Matt's hands, and begins writing on it... _Didn't you hear __what happened?_

"What are you talking about?" I say, sitting back down.

She quickly erases her slate and writes her answer down... _Mikael died yesterday. Elijah took the day off._

"And Klaus?" I ask her worriedly.

She shrugs her shoulders and shakes her head.

I quickly jump off of the sofa and make a mad dash down the hallway. I don't know where he is, but if I know Klaus like I think I do, he's not going to be okay.

I haven't seen him since yesterday when he left the rec room. If the kiss was enough to set him off, I can't imagine how he must be right now.

It's not like I did it to make him jealous- I just... I was starting to think that maybe I needed to get over him. He's moving on with Tatia, and I need to somehow try and forget about everything that happened between us. Tyler is sweet; I deserve to be treated sweetly.

But I guess it didn't help much that I was thinking of Klaus while Tyler's lips were against mine.

This isn't going to be easy.

I start looking for him over at the reception desk. Maybe he's in the Staff room?

Sure enough, as soon as I round the corner, I see him behind the desk. He's organizing a tray of pills that are to be distributed out to the patients. His back is turned to me, and I see him pick up something from the desk that causes him to accidentally knock the tray over, sending the pills scattered all across the floor. Without groaning or complaining, he immediately gets down on his knees and starts to pick up the pills, one by one.

I rush behind the desk and join him on the floor, helping him pick up the tiny capsules.

"Don't- It's fine," he says, taking a quick glance up at me and then continuing to swipe the floor.

"It's okay," I reply, ignoring his words, "Let me help you."

"_No_," he retorts, "It's my mistake, let me fix it."

"You don't have to do this on your own," I reply calmly, my hands grazing against his as we gather the pills together.

His hands have stopped moving all of a sudden, and I glance back up to read his expression.

His face is blank and his eyes are empty, staring off into space. His hands open slowly, releasing the pills and dropping them back onto the floor.

I address him carefully, "Klaus?"

He doesn't respond, and instead, pushes himself backwards underneath the desk. His face goes red as it transforms into the most painfully hurt expression I've ever seen on a man.

His mouth falls open but no cry escapes. Silent tears begin to quickly trickle down his cheeks.

**Klaus's POV:**

When Elijah told me what happened yesterday, I didn't really know how to react. Truth be told, I haven't really thought about it... until now.

Everyone thought that I should have taken the day off, at least to be with my family and comfort them during this time, but I couldn't. What would I do? What would I say?

When I first found out, I refused to let any type of emotion trigger. He was a despicable man that I've grown tired of wasting my energy on. He doesn't deserve my remorse or my anger, or _anything_ for that matter. I didn't want to let myself even think about it, but now the realization has hit... the only father I've ever known is dead. _Gone_.

What was once an empty, hollow feeling in my chest, has just been replaced with bitter, crumbling agony.

And what's worse is I can hear him in the back of my mind, laughing victoriously.

I hide my face in my palms, thinking he can still see me somehow, and I try to block away his laughter. He wanted me to fail, and I have.

"Klaus?" Caroline asks again, joining me under the desk.

I can't look up at her, I can't let her see me like this.

"I know what happened," she says, gently prying my hands away from my face.

I keep my eyes shut as she dries my face with her sleeve. She's so gentle and sweet, and I don't deserve a bit of it.

I glance up at her for a moment and my mouth slightly hangs open, unable to find the right words to say. She gives me a slight nod that lets me know I'm safe with her, that I don't _have_ to say anything. I can feel the pain starting again, so I pull her into my arms and bury my face in her neck.

Thank heavens we are hidden away from the cameras.

She embraces me back and puts her lips against my ear.

"_Don't_ you dare think that just because your own father couldn't love you, that no one else will either," she whispers softly.

She's the only thing that's keeping me sane. I don't have to say a word, and she already knows what I'm thinking. I hold onto her tightly, as if my life depends on it, and sob quietly into her shoulder.

I don't deserve her compassion, but she gives it to me willingly and I can't seem to let her go. I love her.

After about a minute, a start gather myself together and regain my composure.

"We don't have time," I tell her quietly, "They're going to wonder what's going on down here."

She nods her head knowingly.

In front of the desk, we hear Tyler asking around for where she is. Neither of us move. My eyes don't leave hers.

"Caroline... _please_ trust me," I beg sincerely, "Don't see him."

She considers this for a moment and then slowly, begins nodding her head, "I trust you."

I give out a sigh of relief, "Thank you."

I'm about to get up from underneath the desk when her voice stops me.

"I miss you," she admits quietly.

I sit back down and lean against the inside of the desk, staring at her with wonder and amazement.

What did I do to merit such an incredible person in my life?

"I know," I reply after a moment of silence, "... it's hard."

There is something unspoken about the words we've exchanged. Like a shared secret lies behind them. We both know it. We both feel it. But we won't say it. Because we both know the desire will be too strong to resist. We need to push away that urge if we want to stay in each others' lives. Because once the secret is out, there's no fighting it.

**(A/N: I could really use your reviews on this one, guys. Like I said, it was a hard chapter for me to write and I don't know how well I did at keeping things consistent. Any feedback is greatly appreciated, thanks! And don't forget to direct your questions to my tumblr. My username on there is the same as this one. :-D)**


	15. Haunted & Addicted

**(A/N: Ugh, yes, I know it has been forever! But due to a recent change in events, I should be updating much more frequently from now on. Hollerrr! Also, I should probably warn you guys that things are going to start getting darker in this story. Hopefully you will all still enjoy it! The title/songs for this chapter are "Haunted" by Evanescence, and "Addicted" by Kelly Clarkson. Listen. Read. Review. Enjoy!)**

**Caroline's POV:**

For the past two days, Klaus has slowly started to become himself again. He's not avoiding me anymore, and he's even gone out of his way a couple of times to see me. He's friendly again.

We haven't spoken much about what had happened, and there's no need to. Once he had a good cry about it, it was time to move on; And now that time is moving on, Christmas is just around the corner!

He was being a jerk before, so I hadn't planned on getting him anything. Now I have _no idea_ what to do. It's not like I can go out to a store and buy him something, and I don't want to make him another thing from 'arts and crafts'; I'm not a six-year-old for crying out loud. I want to do something _nice _for him, but what?

"Knock knock," a voice states from outside of my room.

Taken by surprise, I jolt up from my bed and see Tyler standing in my door frame.

"Oh, hey you!" I greet politely.

I have kept my promise to Klaus. I've been doing my best to dodge Tyler at every chance I get, but it's been getting harder and harder lately. He just keeps popping up everywhere!

"Whatchu up to?" he asks, entering the room and sitting next to me on the bed.

"Oh nothing, I was actually just about to go see Elijah," I lie, "He's back now and I haven't seen him yet so.."

"So can it wait?" he asks with a hint of annoyance in his voice.

There's a beat of silence as he stares into my eyes and waits for my response. I don't like the way he's looking at me. It's like he's trying to undress my soul or something. I don't know what it is, but suddenly I feel naked and vulnerable. It leaves a bad, uneasy feeling in my stomach.

"Is s-something wrong?" I stutter out cautiously.

At that moment, I notice his legs bouncing uncontrollably. He has one hand tapping repeatedly on his knee while the other nervously runs through his messy hair.

"Other than you lying to me, I'm fine," he says in a sarcastic, icy tone, "What's with you Care? Lately, every time I see you, you blow me off..."

The irritation in his voice is growing. His whole demeanor is making me nervous. I slowly begin to scoot away from him.

"I just-"

"No," he interjects viciously, following me to the edge of the bed, "_Stop_ lying to me."

Oh, _please_ no. What have I gotten myself into?

I take a deep breath before responding.

"I was thinking about what I should get Klaus for Christmas," I confess.

My back hits the bed frame and I stand up to get away, but he follows me. His arms hit the wall, enclosing me between them, and his face moves in very close to mine.

"There, now that wasn't so hard, was it?" he teases, breathing hard against my skin. I turn my head away from him, trying to distance myself as much as possible.

"So you still haven't answered my question," he says leaning into my ear, "Why have you been avoiding me?"

_No_. I can't. I won't.

I build up as much courage as I can and turn my face back to his, "Get away from me _now_."

"Sorry, wrong answer," he says lightly, and clutches my throat into one of his hands.

My arms encircle his wrist as he pushes me upward. The panic escalates throughout my blood stream as I try to take small breaths._ I can't_;he's too strong_._

"Thinking of Klaus, huh? It's 'cause you're _whoring_ yourself to him, isn't it?" He questions in a deep, angry voice, "You want to get out of here so bad, so you've stopped paying attention to me, and focused on catering to his needs. You're _using_ him."

I desperate whimper starts to build in my throat, but it can't be released. His hand squeezes tighter around my neck, pushing my cry for help back down. It forces a waterfall of tears down my face and I can start to feel it turn a different color.

"Like you used _me_," he continues, gritting through his teeth, "You're just a little _tease_, aren't you?"

Anger starts to boil in my veins now. I am _not_ going down without a fight.

I jerk my knee up as hard as I can and hit him in the groin. He releases his grip on me and we both fall to the floor. I'm about to get up and crawl away when he pulls me back and gets on top of me. I try to call out for help, but only a faint whisper escapes. My throat is still tight from the choking. It hurts too much to breathe, let alone scream. He turns my body over to face him and pins my arms down with his hands. His face is tomato red and his eyes are starting to build water. Good, at least I made him feel _pain_.

But as the tears fall, his face starts to soften and his whimpers begin matching mine.

"Why _him_?" He pleads through his sobs, shaking my body desperately, "WHY CAN'T _I_ MAKE YOU HAPPY?"

He's too unstable, and I'm too overwhelmed with emotions to start pitying him. I do the only thing I can think of, and use what little breath support I have to try and talk him down.

"Tyler, you do _not_... need... to be jealous... of Klaus," I try reasoning through weak breaths. The realistic side of me knows nothing will ever happen between Klaus and I, but I never thought I'd have to believe it 'til now.

"I _am_ jealous," he says, voice now on edge, "But I'm also competitive, and if _I_ can't have you, _no one_ will."

His hands are back around my throat, and I try hitting him repeatedly to get him to stop. It's not working. I make an effort to scream, to breathe, but I _can't_. It hurts so much.

I start to shift my body uncomfortably to get out from his grasp. It's no use, he's got me pinned down. My body starts convulsing uncontrollably when the shock sets in. _I am trapped_.

"Don't worry Care," he explains in a moderate tone, "You don't have to do what he says anymore. I'm going to set you free from that disgusting piece of sh-"

I cut him off mid-sentence by spitting in his face. One of his hands releases me and I gather up all the strength I have left to scream.

"KLAAAAAAUS!"

**Klaus's POV:**

Stefan and I are having a conversation about medical school when we hear Caroline's scream echo off the hallways of the hospital. Everything else becomes unimportant all of a sudden as we abruptly end our discussion and sprint down the hallway toward her room.

I make it through the door first, finding Tyler's body on top of an almost purple-faced Caroline. Anger and fury boils inside of me like I've never felt before. My reflexes immediately respond as I tear his body off of her and slam him up against the wall, jabbing my forearm into his neck.

"WHAT IN THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?"

I hold him there steady as a chuckle rises from his throat and vibrates against my arm.

"Why am I not surprised at _you_ coming to her rescue?" He chokes out menacingly.

"Don't screw around with me Tyler," I warn him viciously, "Now is not the time."

I don't realize how deep my forearm is cutting into his throat until security comes by to relieve me. I loosen my grip and hand him over as they each take part in grabbing one of his arms. He's still laughing maniacally as they drag him out of the room.

"She's a little _slut_, that one," he calls out as he's being carried away, "A lying, _teasing_ whore!"

I ignore his last words and redirect my attention to Caroline, who's now bunched in a ball on the floor, and coughing hysterically into Stefan's lap.

"Hey," I say, kneeling down beside her, "Are you okay? Are you hurt?"

She looks up at me, eyes pouring out tears, and gestures loosely to her throat. It's red and swollen, there will definitely be bruises.

"I'll go get her some ice," Stefan says, standing up and and then heading for the door.

"And water," I call back.

He nods his head and shoes away the other concerned nurses as he leaves the room.

She continues to cough and cry as she moves into my arms, and buries her face into my chest. I swat the heel of my palm on her back, between the shoulder blades, and help her cough up the phlegm. After a short while she's breathing regularly again, and relaxing in my arms.

"I should have listened to you sooner," she chokes out through her sobs, "I'm so _stupid_."

"No you're not," I argue, resting my chin on top of her head, "You're _strong,_ and for that I admire you."

"Can you say that again?" she asks quietly.

I pull away and look down at her, "What? That you're strong?"

"No," she whispers, leaning into my ear, "That you admire me."

A smirk tugs up at my lips as I move them close to her ear.

"_I admire you_," I whisper softly.

She shuts her eyelids, releases a deep breath, then goes back to to resting against my chest.

"Klaus," she whispers again, "I have to tell you something"

"Yeah?" I say, pulling back a strand of her hair, "What is it?"

"When I kissed Tyler," she says slowly, "It didn't mean anything."

"Caroline, don't worry about that right now."

"I know... I just wanted to reassure you," she says, looking around to make sure no one can hear, "I just needed to take my mind off of you somehow, and he was there, ya know?"

An overwhelming amount of understanding washes over me. What Tyler is to her, as what Tatia is to me.

"Yeah" I confirm, "I do."

Several nurses are still crowding outside of the room, rubbernecking at the scene and probably wondering what's being said. Lexi shoulders her way through them and quickly joins us on the floor.

"I came as soon as I was paged. Can you breathe alright?" She asks Caroline, ignoring my presence.

"Yeah, Klaus helped me. He and Stefan came right when it happened."

As if on queue, Stefan hurdles into the room with an ice pack and a bottle of water. Caroline accepts the water from him and takes small sips while Lexi holds the ice pack on her neck.

"Klaus, thank you for your help. I can take care of my patient now," she says dismissively.

I exchange one last look with Caroline, then without further argument, do as I'm told.

Lexi's right, I'm not her nurse anymore, and I have no reason to stay. Caroline is no longer under my protection, no matter how much I'd like her to be. But I trust she's in good hands, otherwise I wouldn't have left.

On my way out of the room, I notice Dr. Gilbert alone in the hallway, looking down and holding an ice pack to his head.

"_You_," I growl under my breath, and pull him aside, "Tyler was supposed to be in therapy with _you_."

"He _was_," he says, removing the ice pack and showing the blood wound on his head, "I was knocked out."

"Wait, _what_?"

"In the middle of our session.," he explains, " Things were going fine, we were talking about his favorite activities to do here. Then he started playing with the paperweight on the table, and just out of _nowhere_- POW!... Caught me totally off guard."

I rub a hand over my face and release a deep sigh, "So what happens now, incarceration?"

"Something like that," Elijah replies, joining in on our conversation, "Isolation."

I raise my eyebrows at him.

"You mean we're keeping him here? Are you _mad_!?" I exclaim., "Is that even your call?"

"It is now," John states, "Your elder brother here is the new CMO, remember?"

I close my eyes and nod, just remembering this new information. Dad had left the position to Elijah in his will, and it makes sense, to be quite honest. Elijah was made for the job.

"The district attorney has to come by and make an assessment of him," Elijah explains, "Once he does that, he'll take him to prison," Elijah explains, "So until then, we keep him here, locked away, and treat him the best we can."

"So, for now, it's essentially imprisonment?" I confirm.

"Yes," Elijah responds, "We knew what he had done before he got here, and we gave him a chance. He's too much of a liability now, we can't let him out."

I nod my head in agreement, "For how long?"

He shrugs, "A week? Maybe two? Depends on when the district attorney can stop by."

"But for now, Tyler is being held in Conference room 'C'," John says, placing the ice pack back on his head, "Shouldn't you be seeing your patient at this critical time?"

"Yes," I say, nodding my head and backing away from them.

I _would_, in fact, like to have a few words with my dear patient, Tyler, at this time.

"But I want to continue this discussion later," I add, and with that, make my way toward the conference room.

Elijah isn't dumb, I know he wouldn't let him out anytime soon. But I'll be damned if I don't do absolutely everything in my power to make sure that Tyler doesn't ever go near Caroline again. I still have to remember that he is my _patient_ though. He is not _well_. I have to control my emotions, no matter how bad things get.

Security lets me pass as I enter the room. Tyler is handcuffed to the chair, and sitting at the table. He smirks at my arrival.

"Well look at who it is," he patronizes.

"Hello Tyler," I greet, "Do you know what's in the cards for you after the little stunt you pulled today?"

"What, they gonna lock me up in a bright room with padded walls? Put me in a straitjacket? Attach a muzzle to my face?" He scoffs, "It won't be long 'till I'm out, and then I can finish killing your little_ concubine_."

"Do you honestly believe that about her?" I ask sincerely, "You have to realize that this is just a delusion you've made up in your mind."

A slow, evil grin forms on his face, followed by a maniacal laugh. I don't like it. He knows something I don't.

"You realize how easy it is to _fake_ a diagnosis?" He expresses, "Before I killed my uncle, I looked up all the traits of a jealous type, delusional person. It's like being an actor, you just gotta stay in character..."

_No_...

Of course, he took the easy way out so he wouldn't have to go straight to prison.

"You're a sneaky little bastard, aren't you?" I question.

He shrugs.

"Sure, maybe I'm a little bi-polar. Maybe I've got some deep-seeded anger management issues," he reasons, licking his lips, " I just like getting what I want, and I don't like being denied _anything_."

It takes everything in me to not tear him apart with my bare hands. I could kill him, shred him to pieces right here and right now, but I _won't_.

"Listen, I don't know what game you're playing at, but here's what's going to happen: You will not _touch_ Caroline ever again. You will not speak to her, look at her, or even _think_ of her. If you so much as breathe her name, I will find a punishment for you, so severe, you're going to _wish_ for solitary confinement. Now, have I made myself clear?"

He scoffs, "I'm not your little bitch anymore."

"And I'm not playing around," I retort, "Look, I don't doubt that you have issues, but now it won't take long 'till your gone. You screwed up in here, the district attorney is coming for you and he's going to take you to prison. So until then, _yes_. You _are_ my little bitch."

I watch his face turn into a scowl as the words sink in. He doesn't talk back. He just sits there, grinds his teeth together, and keeps his mouth shut.

**Caroline's POV:**

"Caroline," Dr. Gilbert starts as we're sitting alone in the conference room, "You need to stop relying on Klaus to take care of you."

Oh crap. Where is this going?

"Who says I'm relying on him?" I snort, "I mean, yeah, I called out for help earlier but-"

"You didn't call for help though," he corrects, "You called for _Klaus_."

My mouth hangs open with no response. I don't know what to say.

"You need to let go," he continues, "He can't be your crutch-"

"_Excuse_ me?" I interject, "He's a nurse, he's supposed to take care of people me. That's his job, isn't it?"

He leans in, lowering his voice, "I'm not talking about the exterior of your relationship with him, and you know that."

I sudden wave of fear washes over me, and I start to wonder how much he knows.

"What exactly have I said in hypnotherapy?" I question.

"You don't need to know the details," he says, shaking his head, "But you and I both know you're infatuated with him. And it's up to you to decide what type of behavior is appropriate around him."

Oh my gosh, he _knows_ how I feel about him. I can start to feel my face go red.

"Look," he begins, "There's going to be a day, when you get out of here, and Klaus won't be by your side. Then what?"

I rack my brain, desperately trying to come up with an answer, "I... don't know."

"Think about it...," he says, "In the meantime, mind your space."

I nod my head slowly, and get up to leave the room.

This can't be good. I've just barely started talking to Klaus again, and I'm already causing problems. For goodness sakes, the man can't save my life without someone questioning our relationship.

My mind traces back to the last time he was in that room with me. _The kiss_. It was so light and soft, the touch immediately felt like electricity shooting throughout my entire body. It felt so good.

But I have to put that behind me now, for both of our sakes. Because I don't want to get him into trouble, and for all I know, he might not even love me back. I'm silly to think that he would just wait for me. I'm not going anywhere for a while...

Which leaves me wondering, what's going to be left for me when I make it out of here?

**(A/N: Things are getting crazy up in the asylum, (pun intended)! Please don't forget to review down below!)**


	16. Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas

**(A/N: Is anyone alive out there?... Alright, I really need to update sooner. Shame on me. I hope you guys are able to forgive me! I will do my best to start uploading a chapter a week! This part of the story has just been really hard for me to write, and I feel like I can never get the right words out. So I'm really sorry if it's complete crap! The title/song for this chapter is "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas" by Frank Sinatra. Listen. Read. Review. Enjoy!) **

**Caroline's POV:**

Christmas Day is here, and _everyone _is in a good mood. Even Anna, who always seems to have a poor attitude, is smiling and laughing today. But that's most likely due to the fact that Jeremy keeps attacking her neck with little pecks and kisses.

It still bothers me, seeing them together like that, and I didn't even realize why until just recently...

I'm _jealous _of them.

Even if I don't approve of their messed up relationship, I can't help but feel a longing every time I see them kiss. They're so open and happy with showing their affection for one another. They don't care or have to worry about who might be watching. I envy what they're so freely able to _do_.

On any normal day, I wouldn't have to worry about it, because I don't usually see them. But today is a major holiday, which means the entire psych ward gets together for a big party. There's music, games, and even a little bit of dancing. The food is still average, but better than what it normally is. No sweets though.

Matt's being a gentleman right now and grabbing a plate of food for Elena, while she and I have 'girl talk' on the other side of the room. She shoves her white board in my face, blocking my current view of Jeremy and Anna swapping spit.

I snatch it away from her and read what it says..._ Stop staring_.

"Oh please," I say, rolling my eyes, "It's called PDA for a reason. They _want_ the attention."

She raises an eyebrow at me, I think she can sense my jealousy. I try covering it up...

"I mean, c'mon," I vent, "They can't build on a relationship when she's in a psych ward. What if she never gets out?"

She quickly writes down her response on the slab..._ Thanks a lot Care._

She's being sarcastic, of course.

"That's not what I meant," I start, "It's different with you and Matt. You knew each other before, and he still stuck with you. He _loves_ you."

She looks down and shakes her head solemnly.

_Matt is the only normal thing in my life, and I don't deserve him._

"...Do _you_ love him?" I ask hesitantly.

She pauses, thinking for a moment before writing her response.

_Yes, and I can't even say it to him._

"Well, I know that feeling all too well," I sympathize, "But what you and Matt have is still different from them."

I nod my head in the direction of the 'happy' couple.

She gives a slight smirk while shaking her head.

_So you're just afraid that that's all it will ever be?... No development, no progress?_

Now it's my turn to raise an eyebrow at her.

"Are we still talking about Jeremy and Anna, here?"

She gives me a look that reads,_ '_You know what I'm talking about'.

I bite my lip and give a soft sigh.

"Even if I get out of here," I confess, bringing my voice down to a whisper, "It's not like Klaus would be waiting for me. Why should he? I mean, I can't even _look_ at him anymore without worrying about getting him into trouble."

She almost takes up the whole slab with her next message..._ AND FOR GOOD REASON._

I roll my eyes.

"Dr. Gilbert said to keep my distance, and I am, but I'm not going to _ignore_ him."

Matt arrives with a plate full of snacks just as I finish my sentence.

"Ignore who?" He asks, biting into a carrot and sitting down with us.

"Jeremy," I lie, "It's a little hard to look the other way when he and Anna are sucking each others' faces off."

"Yes," he agrees, "That would be hard to ignore. Lucky for you, you have the power to look the other way."

Elena tries to hold back her smile. Her thoughts right now are most likely somewhere along the lines of, 'I told you so'.

I give an exasperated sigh and drop the conversation.

Matt's eyes suddenly perk up behind me, "Well, hello Liz!"

I quickly whip around and, sure enough, see my Mother walking toward us. She has a gift bag in hand, and a visitor tag on her vest.

"Hello and Merry Christmas!" She greets, leaning down to give me a quick kiss on the cheek.

"Merry Christmas, Mom," I say, pulling her into a hug.

"Mind if I steal her away for a bit?" she asks the gang, putting a hand on my shoulder.

"Nope," Matt answers.

Elena shakes her head.

"I'll catch you guys later," I say, getting up, and walking out of the room with her.

I worry about Matt and Elena sometimes. I wonder if she will ever make progress, and get out of here. Then I wonder if Matt will continue to stay by her side, even through all the messed up stuff that will forever consume her life. What if he cracks one day, and just tells her that he can't wait for her anymore? I don't think I could sit through that heartbreak with her.

As Mom and I stride down the hallway, she brushes back my hair and takes a long look at my neck.

"The bruises are starting to show up," she complains, giving out a frustrated sigh, "That boy will get what's coming to him, you mark my words."

"Let's not talk about him," I suggest, trying to keep the conversation cheerful, "'Tis the season, right?"

"You're right," she says, as we enter my room, "And speaking of which, these are for you!"

She holds out the large, colorful bag to me, and I greatly accept it.

"You come bearing gifts? Why, thank you Mrs. Claus!" I joke, emptying out the bag's contents onto my bed.

While looking over the various wrapped presents, I start to wonder what Christmas shopping is like for her. She must be so lonely, doing these kinds of things by herself, year after year.

"So... what was Christmas like when Santa was still around?" I ask, trying to still be as light as possible.

Dad is a very touchy subject, and while I still choose not to remember him, I want to know- No, I _have_ to know that our family was happy once.

There's a moment of silence as she avoids my eyes and looks down at the floor.

"Let's not talk about him," she says, repeating my words from earlier, "'Tis the season, right?"

I guess I'll never know.

I nod my head respectfully, understanding that the memories are too painful for her to start digging up on this joyous holiday. Maybe some other time...

"Right," I say quietly, and proceed to unwrap my first present.

**Klaus's POV:**

"So he's officially gone now?"

"Yes," Elijah confirms, "The district attorney took him just when you left yesterday. Not an easy time to have somebody moved, the holidays are crazy enough as it is, but it had to be done as soon as possible."

I get up from my seat, ready to head out of his office.

"Wait, where are you going?"

"Telling Caroline the good news," I reply, resting one of my hands on the door handle.

"Yeah, about that..."

He's trailed off. That's not good.

"What?" I ask, slowly inching my way back to him.

My heart starts pounding in my chest. What does he know?

He closes his eyes and rubs the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger, "Lexi is pretty pissed at you, to say the least."

I relax and let out a small breath of relief.

"Lexi is a smart girl," I say, leaning onto the chair in front of me, "She knows what she's doing, and as much as I disagree with her methods, she _does_ care about Caroline's well-being."

"Well, that disagreement needs to be more peaceful," he says with a soft chuckle, "Look, you don't have an assigned patient anymore, so float around for a little bit. Help her if you want, but _stay out_ of Lexi's way, 'kay? I don't want anymore contention in our work environment."

I nod my head in agreement.

"Alright then," he says, leaning back in his chair, "You can go ahead and tell Caroline the news about Tyler. I saw Liz come in earlier, she'll be wanting to know as well."

I spin around on my heel and quickly step out of his office.

"Klaus...," Elijah calls out.

I pop my head back in, "Yeah?"

"Remember, she's infatuated with you. _Don't_ encourage it."

I give a respectful nod, and make my way over to rec room, where all of the patients are celebrating right now.

By now, Elijah and I have already discussed Caroline's sessions with John, and how I need to be walking on eggshells when I'm around her. He still thinks I'm good for her though, which is why he's allowing me to continue seeing her. Truth be told, I'm grateful that he does. Not just because I want to be close to her, but because I _have_ to be.

It's come to the point now, where every fiber of my being aches to be near her; Just to hear her voice, or even see her. I wish I didn't need her so much, but I do. I never realized how badly I do since that day Tyler almost took her light away from this world.

I'm in love.

I'm in love... and that _terrifies_ me.

I step into the rec room and scan the crowd for Caroline, but she's nowhere to be found. Almost immediately, Elena waves over to me and holds up her whiteboard... _HER ROOM_.

I nod my head and wave back to her, exiting the room. The confused look on my face must have gave me away.

I knock on Caroline's door before entering her room, and find _Rebekah_ sitting on the bed... chatting with her.

"Oh, hello dear brother!" She greets, rushing over to give me a quick hug.

"Rebekah, what are you doing here?" I question.

"Well, Merry Christmas to you too," she states, sarcastically, "Besides visiting my two favorite big brothers on the happiest of holidays, I decided that now would be a good time to finally meet Caroline. You know I've been dying to, ever since we planned that birthday surprise for her and all."

"She brought me a gift!" Caroline exclaims, throwing a long pink scarf around around her neck and twirling around in a circle.

I told Rebekah about what had happened with Tyler, she must of done this to help her cover up the bruises on her neck. That was sweet of her.

I lean into her ear, "You know she can't keep that..."

"Don't spoil the fun," she mumbles quietly to me, "Let her enjoy it this _one_ day."

The hospital has specific regulations on any items a patient can use to potentially harm themselves with. Unfortunately, this falls underneath that category.

"By the way, here's that _thing_ you asked me to drop by," she says, surreptitiously handing me a green, decorative gift bag.

"Thank you," I whisper back.

"Well, I think I'll go visit Elijah now," she announces, giving me and then Caroline one last hug, "Merry Christmas!"

She turns to me, mouthing the words, '_I like her_'.

Then, giving me an inconspicuous wink, she leaves the room.

I shake my head at her words. If any one person could guess that I had feelings for Caroline, it had to be Rebekah. Not because I make it known on my face, or anything; I've actually been painfully discreet about it. She's just a hopeless romantic like that.

"Am I really not allowed to keep it?" Caroline asks, longingly running her fingers up and down the scarf.

I guess she heard _that_ conversation.

"Afraid so," I say, pulling up her desk chair and sitting down in it, "I'll tell you what though: you can wear it for the rest of the day. Then I'll just add it to the pile of things waiting for you when you get out of here."

"I'm really enjoying your use of '_when_' here, it's very confident," she teases, seating herself on the bed.

"I _am_ _very_ confident in you," I concur, "I would hope you are, as well."

"I am," she replies, smiling, "I just hope it happens soon. Then I wouldn't have to deal with psychotic guys attacking me when they're supposed to be in therapy."

She chuckles at her last words, but then immediately winces in pain. Very carefully, she pulls the scarf loose, and rubs the bruised areas on her neck.

I can hardly stand to watch her grimace.

"Just know that if Tyler was still in my care, he would have never hurt you," I say calmly, meeting her eyes with mine, "I wouldn't have let him."

She gives me a meek smile, "I know."

Not particularly walking on eggshells at the moment, but I had to make sure she knew.

"Speaking of which, I have good news," I say, a bit more chipper, "Where's your mother? I heard she was here..."

"She's talking to Dr. Gilbert about some stuff, I don't know what."

"Oh, well then he's probably already told her..."

"What is it?"

I remain silent, holding onto her suspense, and tantalizing her with the information she doesn't know yet.

"Tell me!" she whines, and playfully throws wrapping paper at my face.

"Alright!" I chuckle out, "Tyler's gone!"

"Oh thank goodness!" She exclaims, falling backwards onto her mattress, "I can sleep again."

"I got you something for that," I say, holding up the green gift bag.

"You got me something?" She asks, a bit perplexed, and then takes the present.

"Don't think much of it," I warn, as she pulls the tissue paper out, revealing a small, soft, light brown bear. The color is a bit washed out, and the stuffing is loose. There's a green ribbon at the neckline that ties into a small bow.

I can see the look on her face, slowly realizing what makes this particular bear so unique.

"Is this... yours?" she asks carefully.

"It was, now he's yours," I say, smiling, "He's the best 'guard bear' there is."

She gives a soft chuckle at that.

"Wait, you're _giving_ this to me?"

"I want you to feel safe," I reply simply, "Even when I'm not around."

She nods her head, understandingly, and holds the bear close to her chest.

"Thank you," she says sincerely, "I'm sorry I didn't get you anything. I'm not really allowed to-"

"I know," I interject, putting a hand up to stop her, "I talked to Elijah earlier, we don't need to talk about it."

"But... I'd like to," She mumbles, looking down and nervously rubbing the bear's paws together.

I know where this is going, and I can't take us there.

I want her to know, more than _anything_ in the world, I want her to know. I almost tell her, just to reassure her. But I can't. I can't say it out loud. Because if I say it out loud, it becomes real. And if it becomes real, I won't be able to stay away from her. Then _everything_ will fall apart.

"Tell you what," I begin, moving next to her on the bed, "For your Christmas present to me, you can make me a promise. How does that sound?"

"Okay," she agrees hesitantly.

"Promise me, that you will do everything in your power, no matter what, to get better."

"But I am-"

"Then, when the hospital releases you," I continue, "_I_ promise we will talk about _that_ as much as you want."

She slowly nods her head, comprehending my words.

"No matter what?" she asks.

"No matter what," I reply, "Promise me, Caroline."

She looks down at the bear, then back at me.

"I Promise."

**(A/N: So there you have it! Review with a day of the week you guys want me to update and I will plan to update every week on that day from now on. Don't forget to direct questions to my tumblr! My username is the same as this one. :-D)**


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